Blog Reflection

               Throughout the year, I have been doing about one blog post every other Friday. I have worked hard on many of those blog posts and have shown a lot of effort. I have also benefited from these posts in various different ways. Adding on, I’ve noticed how writing online is different than writing in a notebook, it is easier.

                One way that I have benefited from this experience is that it helped me keep track of my reading. I usually don’t read as much as I did this year because I don’t have the time for it, however, doing these posts made me put more effort into reading. In fact, it also helped me understand my book better, like asking more questions, making conclusions or predictions, basically getting deeper into the book. I also thought that this has benefited me by making me used to writing essays, thus, in high school it won’t be as hard as it would’ve been if I didn’t do these. Additionally, I thought that doing these frequent blog posts have made my vocabulary better in a way that made my blog posts more stimulating. These blog post have also helped me improve my essays, like when someone would comment on my post they would tell me what I should fix or what I should continue doing. In general, these recurrent blog posts have abetted me in many different ways.

                However, I’ve noticed how writing online is different than writing in a notebook, it is much easier for me because it isn’t as time-consuming. Writing in a notebook takes a lot of time because you literally have to write every letter out, oppositely, online you just have to basically press little buttons on your keyboard. In addition, it is better, in my opinion, because there are some things that help you, like auto correct. Although, I do think that writing in a notebook would be better for a person who doesn’t like feedback from strangers or friends far away. Or even for people that don’t like to share any of their work. All in all, personally, I think that writing online is better, however, it depends on the person writing the post.

                In conclusion, I have benefited from these continuous blog posts in countless ways.  Furthermore, I think that writing online is very different than writing in a notebook. In fact, I think that it is better because it is easier. Overall, I think that these blog posts were very helpful in preparing me for the future, high school. 

What is Right and What is Wrong?

                I am currently reading the book, “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls. This book is about the life of Jeannette Walls and her family that went on a long adventure to get rich. There are four kids, Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and Maureen.  Lori is the oldest and the smartest, she isn’t very athletic, but loves to draw, like her mom. On the other hand, Jeannette loves to explore and go on different adventures, especially with her brother Brain, who also loves to explore. Maureen is the youngest and is learning how to take care of her own problems as time goes by. Their father is on a mission to find gold, so that they can become rich, so that they can build the Glass Castle. The Glass Castle is a house that their father has been designing for years, it would be made of mostly glass and built by the whole family. Their mom, however, just wants her dream of being an artist to come true. Throughout this book, I’ve noticed that they are slowly breaking apart from each other, many fights happening, many crimes have been done, and even members of the family moving away. But then I started to wonder, what exactly is right, and what exactly is wrong?

                The dictionary definition of right is, “correct in judgment, opinion, or action.” This made me think what if right was also wrong? For example, would it be right to kill five people to save one million? Even if those five people were innocent pedestrians. Moreover, it made me think about some of the decisions made by some of the members in the Walls family. One decision that I thought was interesting was when Jeannette shot back at Billy when he attack her and her siblings with a bb gun. Was it right to go against the law and use a gun? Even if it was self-defense? Another decision that I thought was controversial was to let their parents live on the streets of New York City, homeless, while they live in their own warm, comfy apartment. Was it right to listen to what they wanted even though it was dangerous? Was it right to listen to them when they said they didn’t want any money? Overall, many decisions made in the Walls family made me think of what would be considered right, even if it was wrong at the same time.

                On the other hand, the definition of wrong is, “not in accordance with what is morally right or good.” This made me wonder what decisions made by the Walls family were, according to the definition, wrong. One decision that I was confused about was when Jeannette yelled at her grandmother when she was touching Brian in a way that he was uncomfortable. Was it wrong to yell at her own grandmother? Would it have been right to let her touch him in that way? This lead me to think even deeper, like should we disrespectful when it comes to situations like these? Furthermore, another decision was when Jeannette kept giving her dad money for beer and cigarettes. Was it wrong to give him money so he could waste it all instead of using it for what they need the most, food? Was it wrong for him to even ask her for the money when he knew it wouldn’t be helpful for the family? In sum, I think that there were many decisions made that could’ve been considered the wrong thing to do.

                In conclusion, throughout the book many choices made could be seen as right or wrong. In fact, they could’ve been considered both right and wrong. Overall, I think that many of these decisions have made me think about what is actually right and what is actually wrong.

                

"The Glass Castle' by Jannette Walls

                 I am currently reading the book, “The Glass Castle”, by Jannette Walls. This book is about the life of a family that went on a long adventure to get rich. There are four kids, Lori, Jannette, Brian, and Maureen.  Lori is the oldest and the smartest, she isn’t very athletic, but loves to draw, like her mom. Jannette is the main character who loves to explore and go on different adventures, especially with her brother Brain, who also loves to explore. Maureen is the youngest, she is about one years old, and is learning how to speak as the days go by. Their father is on a mission to find gold, so that they can become rich. Their mom, however, just wants her dream of being an artist to come true. This family, on the other hand, is not like many others.

        One way of how this family is different is how they live. They have no home, they constantly move from one place to another. They have lived in a trailers, different cities, and even in deserts. The kids didn’t go to school, their parents had home schooled them. Their dad had taught them physics and geology, meanwhile, their mom taught them how to be responsible, and how to express their feelings or emotions through art. Adding on, their parents had given them so much freedom that they learned to take care of themselves. Overall, the way they lived was different compared to most families.  

        Another way of how this family is different is how the kids behave. Most kids have a little problem with obeying their parents, however, Lori, Jannette, Brian, and Maureen know that it would be disrespectful to disobey their parents, and they would get punished, so they rarely misbehaved. In addition, when they get hurt, severely, they don’t cry about it, they just leave it to heal, they don’t even go to the hospital. All in all, the kids react differently to certain things compared to other kids.

        Lastly, they are diverse compared to others because their parents raised them in a different way. When their kids get hurt, they refuse to go to the hospital, they claim it’s for “wussies” and a waste of money, even when Jannette fell out of the car and down a cliff. Additionally, their father taught Jannette how to use a gun at the age of 4, which helped her shoot a boy named Billy when he attacked her and her siblings with a bb gun. Moreover, their parents let Jannette play with fire, which caused her to get severe burns all around her body. In sum, their parents raised their kids very differently than other families do.

        In conclusion, the Walls family is very diverse compared to others. They do many things differently, like go to different cities every few days, run away from cops, basically go on new adventures every few days. In sum, this family is like no other. 

"North of Beautiful" by Justina Chen Headley

            I am reading the book “North of Beautiful” by Justina Chen Headley. So far, this is about a girl named Terra. She is in high school and she has a boyfriend named, Eirk. If you saw her from behind you would probably think that she was perfect, but she is not. She has this big mark on her face. She covers it with a bunch of make up. She also loves maps; she inherited it from her dad, which is a teacher at her school. I think that there is a pattern in this book; I think the pattern is that she gets bullied by people for her birthmark and that she doesn’t know what to do, so she believes them.

                I think she doesn’t know what to do because when she couldn’t wear make up when she was little she couldn’t cover it up so she knew that it was true, that the birthmark made her look ugly. For example, on page 5, she four years old, and was at dance class and she was chose to be Cinderella. When she got chosen there was this girl named Alicia, she got angry because she wanted to be Cinderella, so she told Miss Elizabeth in a diva in training way, “But Miss Elizabeth, Terra is too ugly to be a princess!” and at that moment, everyone in the studio, including Miss Elizabeth, was staring at her cheek. At that moment, Terra knew that they were right, that she was ugly. She felt like the ugliest girl in the class, when she wasn’t. I think that the mark on her cheek has become her weakness over the years of her childhood. I think that she should tell the bullies to stop by showing that she doesn’t care so that they will realize that it is a waste of time.

                Another reason why I think she doesn’t know what to do when people bully her about her cheek is that she doesn’t speak up. For example on page 17, when Erik asked found the brochure that Dr. Holladay had given her for her cheek to get fixed by surgery. When he was looking through it Terra was freaking out. When he asked her “So are you going to do it?” and when she replied “ No” he seemed confused and said “Why not?” and that’s when she stopped speaking, all the memories came back to her, the really bad ones of her getting called ugly. I think Terra should have just told him the truth, that she didn’t want to fix her face or that she was thinking about it. Also I think that she should have said that she likes the way her face looked, that she wanted to leave it alone and continue putting make up on it to cover it.

                I also think that she doesn’t know what to do because she never defends herself. For example, When she got bullied during dance class when she was four, she didn’t do anything, she just kept quiet, until the new girl, Karin, had stood up for her and told Alicia “ Your uglier than the ugly stepsisters!”, which had made Alicia shut up. I think that Terra should stop making Karin and other people defend her for her. I think she should grow up a little and stop the bullying, or else it will get worse.

                As you can see, this pattern occurs a lot in the book so far. It occurs so much because she is always trying to get rid of it or trying to not let people notice it by putting make up over it. If you think about it, the Pattern connects to the theme or message because in the book they mention that she is always covering her flaws, and can connect to the theme or message if the message or theme is to be who you are and that you are pretty the way you are, so don’t change the way you look just for the public’s attention. I think that she should just be herself and shouldn’t change the way she looks.

Non-Fiction Critical Analysis

             The article, “Should Colleges Stop Requiring the SAT/ACT?” by William C. Hiss and Wayne Camera, explains the pros and cons of having the SAT/ACTs. Hiss explains how it would be better to not have the tests because high school grades are a better predictor of college success. On the other hand, Camera explains how the standards are different at certain schools, so it would be hard for the admissions office to choose from the grades. Although William C. Hiss has good evidence as well, I agree with Wayne Camera, I think that they should keep the SATs and ACTs.

                One reason why I agree with Wayne Camera is because there are more than 35,000 public and private high schools in the U.S with huge variations, it would be impossible for the college admissions offices to be familiar with them all. Adding on, the standards for an A at one school can be different as opposed to others, which is not fair for most kids. Another example how, according to Camera, “some schools do not offer advanced placement or honor classes, which give students a chance to impress colleges. For students without these options, standardized test scores can be another way to prove themselves.” Thus helping students who wouldn’t have a chance to prove to the colleges that they are worthy enough. Furthermore, when William C. Hiss stated, “ High school grades, not test scores, are the best predictor of college success,” I did not agree with him because some students cheat on tests that were given to them in school, which made their grades better than what it should’ve been. Taking the SATs and ACTs would show the students’ true potential, and whether or not they are acceptable. Overall, I think that college standardized testing should continue because it would be extremely easier and reasonable.  

                In conclusion, I think that colleges should keep the SATs and ACTs because they are very helpful. Moreover, I thought this article was very interesting because I am planning to take the SATs in the future. In sum, colleges should keep standardized testing because it is easier and more reasonable.

Romeo and Juliet Literary Essay

                In the play, “Romeo and Juliet” written by Shakespeare, is about two young teenagers falling in love. One is named Juliet, whom is thirteen, is from the Capulet family. On the other hand, Romeo is sixteen, and is a part of the Montague family, which is the enemy of the Capulet’s.  They met at a party that Juliet’s dad had set up, it was love at first sight. They soon became so in love that they secretly got married at Friar Lawrence’s church. However, they didn’t see that Juliet’s parents had already set her up an arranged marriage with a young man named Paris. Thus, many complications occurred, leading people to do unspeakable things, including both, Romeo and Juliet, to commit suicide. Throughout this play, the themes, guilt, consequences, and hope had occurred numerous times.

                One theme that occurred throughout the play was guilt. As I said before, many problems happened, thus, causing many people to do regretful things. One example is when Tybalt killed Mercutio, he felt guilty after because it soon got him killed.  Adding on, Romeo also felt remorseful because he killed Tybalt, which got him banished from Verona. He also felt guilty because he couldn’t see Juliet anymore, “'Tis torture and not mercy. Heaven is here, where Juliet lives, and every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing, live here in heaven and may look on her, but Romeo may not. More validity, more honorable state, more courtship lives in carrion flies than Romeo. They may seize on the white wonder of dear Juliet’s hand and steal immortal blessing from her lips, who even in pure and vestal modesty, still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin. But Romeo may not. He is banished. Flies may do this, but I from this must fly. They are free men, but I am banished. And sayst thou yet that exile is not death? Hadst thou no poison mixed, no sharp-ground knife, no sudden mean of death, though ne'er so mean, but “banished” to kill me?—“Banished”! O Friar, the damned use that word in hell. Howling attends it. How hast thou the heart, being a divine, a ghostly confessor, a sin-absolver, and my friend professed, to mangle me with that word “banished”?”(3, 3, 30-52). Another example is when Friar Lawrence made the plan, (which was for Juliet to drink a liquid that made her sleep for hours so that people will think she is dead, in result, she wouldn’t have to marry Paris) he soon remorseful it after, “And if aught in this miscarried by my fault, let my old life be sacrificed some hour before his time unto the rigor of severest law,” (5, 3, 281-284) meaning that he knows that it is his fault so he should be punished. Furthermore, Juliet felt guilty for agreeing to his plan because it caused Romeo to kill himself, as well as Paris. Overall, the theme guilt plays a huge role in the play.

                In result to all of those events, the theme, consequences had arose. For example, when Tybalt killed Mercutio, the consequence was Romeo killing him. Therefore, the Prince announced, “And for that offence immediately we do exile him hence. I have an interest in your hearts' proceeding. My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding. But I’ll amerce you with so strong a fine that you shall all repent the loss of mine. I will be deaf to pleading and excuses. Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses, therefore use none. Let Romeo hence in haste, else, when he’s found, that hour is his last. Bear hence this body and attend our will. Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill,” (3, 1, 148-149) meaning that Romeo is now banished from Verona, which made him leave Juliet. Another example is when Friar Lawrence made the plan and when Juliet agreed to it, the result of both of these actions was Romeo, herself, and even Paris’ death.  It also resulted in the Prince publicizing, “Their course of love, the tidings of her death. And here he writes that he did buy a poison of a poor 'pothecary, and therewithal came to this vault to die and lie with Juliet. Where be these enemies?—Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love! And I, for winking at your discords, too have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished,” (5, 3, 308-312), meaning that everyone is punished. All in all, many of the events that were caused by guilt formed many consequences throughout the play.

                Lastly, the theme hope had also occurred in the play. An example of this is when Romeo and Juliet hoped for their marriage to work out well, they kept trying and trying to make it work out by trying many different things. One thing they tried was only letting Romeo go to Juliet’s house at night, so her parents wouldn’t catch him. Another example is when Juliet was always hoping for Romeo to be safe, she hoped that nothing bad would happen to him when he got banished. Adding on, she was relieved when she found out that Tybalt was dead, “Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband? Ah, poor my lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name, when I, thy three hours' wife, have mangled it? But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin? That villain cousin would have killed my husband. Back, foolish tears, back to your native spring. Your tributary drops belong to woe, which you, mistaking, offer up to joy. My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain, and Tybalt’s dead, that would have slain my husband. All this is comfort. Wherefore weep I then?  Because he wanted to kill Romeo before,” (3, 2, 106-109). Juliet also hoped that her marriage to Paris would be cancelled, “O God!—O Nurse, how shall this be prevented? My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven. How shall that faith return again to earth, unless that husband send it me from heaven by leaving earth? Comfort me. Counsel me.—Alack, alack, that heaven should practice stratagems upon so soft a subject as myself. What sayst thou? Hast thou not a word of joy? Some comfort, Nurse,” (3, 5, 205-214). Another example of hope used in this play was when Juliet was hoping that Friar Lawrence’s plans will work, before she drank the liquid he had given her she kept praying that it would work because she really didn’t want to marry Paris. In sum, the theme hope occurred many times throughout the play.

                In conclusion, in the play, “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare, three themes were shown, guilt, consequences, and hope. In fact, guilt and consequence connect to each other because whatever the guilt caused the people do had formed consequences. All in all, the three themes, guilt, consequence, and hope occur countless times throughout the play.

"Locomotion" By Jacqueline Woodson

                 I am currently reading the book, “Locomotion”, by Jacqueline Woodson. This book is about an eleven year old boy named Locomotion, but most people call him Lonnie. He writes in this book, only poetry, because it sometimes makes him feel better about certain things going on in his life. Locomotion lost his parents to a fire and his little sister, Lili, had been taken by different parents in foster care. However, I think that all of these problems are way too stressful for such a little boy.

                Lonnie has been through a lot throughout his life. One thing that he had to deal with was losing his parents, which was really hard because it caused so many other problems to come up. For example, after the fire was over, neighbors took both Locomotion and Lili in to take care of them for as long as they could. However, soon, the neighbors couldn’t take care of them anymore, thus, they were sent to foster care. When they finally got people to adopt them, they got separated because they had different foster parents. In addition, Lonnie doesn’t like his foster mom because she always tells him to be quiet. He also doesn’t like Lili’s foster mom because she won’t let Locomotion come to visit Lili, in result, they had to meet somewhere else. Another example is having to deal with his friend Eric being sick. Eric has the sickle-cell anemia, which could be deadly after a long period of having the disease. All in all, Lonnie has a lot of problems/issues to deal with at such a young age.

                In conclusion, Lonnie has a lot to deal with throughout his life, like trying to visit his sister and trying to forget seeing the fire. Moreover, he has to deal with not only family problems, but also school problems, like trying to fit in and has to deal with Eric have a deadly disease. 

"Weetzie Bat" By Francesca Lia Block

                I am currently reading the book, “weetzie bat” by Francesca Lia Block”. This book is about a teenage girl named Weetzie. She meets a boy named Dirk at a bar and soon or later become best friends with him. They go everywhere together, to rock concerts, different bars, parties, etc. When they became really close, Dirk had confessed that he is gay. Thus, he and Weetzie decided to find “Ducks” (soul mates) for each other. They would search every party they went to, every bar, every concert, they pretty much search everywhere. Both Dirk and Weetzie had found people, but just not the right ones. For example, Weetzie kept going out with the wrong kind of guys, the ones that didn’t treat her right, meanwhile, Dirk just couldn’t find the ONE. Then, one day while Weetzie and Dirk were at Fifi’s house, Dirks grandmother, Fifi had given Weetzie a gift, it was an old dusty lamp. When Weetzie went home that night, she decided to clean the dusy lamp, suddenly, a genie came out of nowhere and granted her three wishes, one, was for Dirk to find love, two was for her to find “Her Secret Agent Lover Man” (her soul mate), and three was for her and Dirk to have a beautiful house to live in. Not thinking any of these wishes would come true, Weetzie never talked about it… that was until they did. Overall, a lot of things that I thought would never expect would happen. But then again, things that I did expect to happen, did.

                While reading this book many events occurred that I absolutely had no idea would happen. One example, was the genie coming out of the lamp. I thought it was just a gift that Fifi wanted to give her for good luck or something, but it was way different. Instead, she gave her last set of wishes to Weetzie. Another example, was for Dirk to be gay. At first, I thought Dirk only went up to Weetzie at the bar so that they could hook up or something, but then they started to hang out more, which made me think that he just wants to ask her out in a romantic way, not too slow or quick. But, he just confessed that he was gay. In addition, I never thought that the wishes would come true but they did. Dirk found his true love, in fact, his name is Duck. So did Weetzie, she found her true love, and his name is actually My Secret Agent Lover Man. Overall, a lot of weird and unexpected things occurred throughout the book.

                Although unexpected things happened, some expected things also happened. For example, I knew that Weetzie was going to find her true love because Dirk did, which means her wishes are going to come true. Adding on, I knew that Fifi’s house was going to become Dirk’s and Weetie’s because it was also one of her wishes. Another example is when Weetzie said she wanted a baby (but her spouse objected to that idea) and Dirk and Duck helped her with that. I knew that Dirk was going to help her have a baby because he himself wanted his own child, thus, Dirk, Weetzie, and Duck had slept together and Weetzie became pregnant. Moreover, I knew that My Secret Lover Man was going to get mad about the pregnancy because one, he didn’t want to have a kid, and two, it means Weetzie had cheated on him. Overall, a little expected things also occurred throughout the book.

                In conclusion, both expected and unexpected events occurred while reading this book. Adding on, this book was very interesting, however, it was also very weird. Overall, this book was very entertaining.  

My Literary Essay

           In the book, “Paper Towns” by John Green, the Green talks about a senior in high school named Q, who has two best friends, Radar and Ben. Q is the average high school kid he has good grades, doesn’t get into trouble, has friends, not very popular, etc. However, one night, his crush, and most popular girl in school, Margo, came up to his window and asked him to help her on an eleven- step mission. At first, he was hesitant to go with her on a mission at night, but eventually, she convinced him to go with her. He thought it might make their relationship better, wishing that it might result in him taking Margo to prom. However, he never knew that it could’ve changed the way he acts, talks, and what he does. This made me think about if the author purposely tried to teach a lesson on why you shouldn’t change yourself so others will like you more.

            In the book, Q was a good, intelligent, and kind guy. He never would think to stay awake on a school night, or even on a weekend. He got lots of good grades, and never broke the rules. He did everything he could to stay on top of his work and keep everything going for just a few weeks until school officially ended. He was nice to his friends, helped them out when they needed it the most. For example, when Radar had girlfriend problems, he helped him out. Adding on, he barely got into fights with them, thus, they were very close. They would play games every day after they all finished their school work. Overall, Q was a very nice, intelligent person.

            However, he eventually changed after that night with Margo. He broke the rules, didn’t do his homework, went to bed late, and didn’t even study for his final government exam the next day. For example, Q took his mom’s car without her permission and left with Margo to help her with the eleven- step mission. In addition, him and Margo broke into three houses, Jason’s (Margo’s cheating boyfriend), Becca’s (Margo’s ex-best friend), and Chuck’s (the bully that bothered Q everyday) and spray painted their cars and house. Adding on, they broke into one of the most popular buildings in Orlando, Florida. Q even ran from a guy shooting a shotgun and the police. In fact, he skipped graduation (which he would’ve never done if he didn’t go with Margo that one night) just to find Margo when she never came back to school after that crazy night. Also, when he and his friends skipped graduation, he didn’t tell his parents, which is very usual because he never lies to his parents. Clearly, Q changed himself just for Margo to like him more so that he could take her to prom (which never really happened).

            After realizing this, I noticed that Green was probably trying to teach the readers a lesson on why you shouldn’t change yourself just for others to like you more. For example, at the end of the book, after all Q did for Margo, she still didn’t date him, nor did she stay friends with him, thus, all the changing with Q was a big waste. Adding on, Q could’ve gotten arrested when he went with Margo to get revenge on her boyfriend, Jason and her ex-best friend, Becca, this is something he would’ve never even thought about before, and he didn’t like getting in trouble, especially when it involves police. Another example of Q changing himself for Margo is when he spray painted her ex-boyfriend’s car, he would’ve never done that before because he knew that would have gotten him into huge trouble with Jason and his friends, but he still did it so he could look cool and “bad” in front of Margo. I think John Green purposely put these details in there to show that Q wouldn’t do these things normally, but he would just to fit in. Overall, I think that Green is trying to show us that changing yourself for others is not worth it.

            All in all, Q is a very intelligent teen that just wanted his crush to like him back, like all other teens. In result, he tried to be someone that he was not. Overall, I believe that John Green was trying to make his readers understand that changing yourself is never the answer to being cool, popular, or for your crush to like you. I think he was trying to send a message that being yourself is always the answer.

Link to my original blog post: http://amanisawesomeblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/iam-currently-reading-book-paper-towns.html

Non-fiction Critical Analysis

               This article, “Spread a Rumor, Go to Jail?” is about how a 16 year old boy named Yang Hui got arrested for spreading a rumor online. In fact, he was the first person to be arrested under this new law called “rumor mongering”. This law claims that if your post gets “more than 5,000 views and reposted more than 500 times”, you will get arrested. However, he wasn’t only arrested for posting a rumor online, they say that Hui’s offense might be the explanation of a local man’s death. Adding on, this article is about how China censored Facebook, Twitter, and blocks foreign media websites, they do this with what’s known as the Great Firewall.  I think that the author gives me hints throughout the article on what he is trying to make me think or feel.

                I think the author is trying to make me think that this is not a ridiculous law. For example, when he quoted, “The best way of putting an end to Internet rumors is for the government to stop disseminating lies,”  by a Chinese fiction author, Yu Hua, he made sure that the quote made it seem like this law could help convince us that the law was a smart idea that the government came up with. Adding on, he wants us to feel bad or sad because a local man died because of Yang’s opinion. In addition, the author probably wanted us to think about what we do online and think about what comments we post. They want us to think about rumors that we have spread ourselves or have witnessed being spread, thus, making us feel bad about it and making us think that this law could actually be helpful. Overall, he makes us think the law is helpful and feel good about it.

                All in all, I think that this article was very interesting. However, my opinion has changed a little bit because before I read this article I thought that spreading rumors wasn’t a big deal, but now after reading this article I realize that it can be a big deal in some cases. For example, it could cause deaths, like it did to a local man in China. I also would like to know what the rumor was and why was it so popular. Also I would like to know if the guy was popular, which could be the reason why the rumor was popular. Adding on, I would like to know why Yang Hui would spread the rumor in the first place. Overall, I thought this article was very interesting and changed my opinion on spreading rumors. 

Breaking Dawn, By Stephenie Meyers, SPOILER ALERT!!!!

             I was reading the book, “Breaking Dawn”, by Stephanie Meyer. This book was the last of the twilight saga series. This book was about how Bella   gets married to Edward so she can become a vampire, just like him. After the wedding, they went to Esme's private island for their honeymoon. However, during their honeymoon, but knowing that vampires can reproduce when having coitus with a human being, they had a half human and half vampire baby girl named Renesmee.  After giving birth to the rapid growing child, Bella became a vampire. However, Irina (another vampire that wants revenge on Bella) told the Volturi that they had a vampire baby, which is against the vampire rules. But, they actually didn’t, they had a half-human half-vampire, which is technically not against the rules. While reading, I noticed that a lot of things that I didn’t expect actually happened, but also things that I did expect to happen.            There was a lot of things that I didn’t expect to happen. One example is that there “werewolves” aren’t actually werewolves, they are actually shape-shifters. Another example is when Alice left because the Volturi were coming. At first, I thought that was really mean of her and Jasper to leave but in the end, it made sense because it was for a good cause. In fact, I definitely did not expect Irina to tell the Volturi because I didn’t think she would go that far, but obviously I was mistaken.  Moreover, when Irina lied to the Volturi, I thought they were going to punish her by just beating her up as a warning but instead, they actually killed her, which really surprised me because I was expecting Bella or one of the other witnesses or vampires to die, not her. Furthermore, I was the most surprised when Bella and Edward and their allies didn’t fight the Volturi. I was surprised because I thought that the Volturi was going to kill Renesmee because they thought she was only a vampire, but they actually gave Carlisle a chance to explain what was going on. Overall, I thought that a lot of surprising events occurred while reading this book.            Although a lot of unexpected things happened, things that I did expect also happened. For example, I had a feeling that someone would die because I knew the Volturi were very violent. Adding on, I also knew that Bella would improve her control over her shield because I knew that she would get angry while with the Volturi, which makes her shield stronger. Lastly, I also expected the Cullen family, werewolves, and some of other vampires were going to try to fight the Volturi because I knew they would piss them off with their comments about killing the baby. Overall, a few things that I expected actually did happen.            All in all, this book was a very interesting and entertaining book. I expected and didn’t expect some events to occur. Overall, this was a good ending to this awesome series.  

            

Blog Review, "Bossypants, by Tina Fey" By Annalise Edwards

             While reading blogs, I came across Annalise Edwards’ blog post, "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. She talks about the book and what it is about. The book is about the famous comedian named Tina Fey. She talks about how it was in high school and how she became famous. However, she talks about how she had to deal with the cyberbullying and sexism. Adding on, Annalise thought that it was not fair that when a non-famous person gets bullied like that, everyone freaks out and helps them out, meanwhile, when it’s a famous person, everyone just leaves it for them to figure out themselves. I agree with Annalise, which is one of the reasons why I chose her blog post. I think that it is unfair to celebrities and that they should be treated as a normal person would’ve been treated.

            Although I did not read this book, I can agree with most of the things Annalise mentioned in her blog post. For example, when she talked about how many celebrities get bullied but no one does anything to help them. I agree with her because I too think it’s unfair because many people think that it’s okay that a celebrity gets bullied because every celebrity has “haters”. Adding on, I agree with her when she says, “Just because a person's face is on a couple screens a couple of times a year doesn't mean that they don't have actual feelings that actually get hurt sometimes. No one ever seems to think about that, or even cares to wonder if they're getting affected by it in any way”. Overall, most of her claims or questions is similar to what I would have wrote.

            The way Annalise summarized the book made me want to read it too. When she talked about how the book tells the story of how Tina Fey became famous, or how high school was for her, that really made me want to know more specific details, thus, I wanted to read the book even more than before. Adding on, the way she described what Tina Fey mostly talked about in her book also wanted to make me read it because it seemed like a funny book. For example,  when she said, “As for the sexism Fey describes in the book, because her whole attitude towards negative actions comes across in a smartass fashion, she somewhat disses the men who had wronged her, putting in full-on detail why their way of thinking had been wrong, and she metaphorically laughs in their faces since it was because she fought her way against them that she reached her goal: even moderate success on television”, that made it seem like the book, most likely, talked about her love life and had a few funny jokes too. Also when she said, “By including these things in her book, she proves (or at least proved to me) why sexist is no way to be when it comes to the success of a show-all you need is at least a couple outstanding actors or actresses, and you'll end up with a smile on your face”, that made me think more of how Tina Fey dealt with the sexism and cyberbullying, which made me want to read it even more. Overall, after reading this blog post, I no longer think that this book is boring, in fact, I think it sounds interesting, so I will read it.

            All in all, I really liked reading Annalise Edwards’ blog post because it was easy to connect to. In addition, her attitude throughout the blog post really helped me understand what she was thinking. Overall, I think Annalise did a very good job on this blog post.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer, SPOILER ALERT

  I am currently reading the book "Breaking Dawn" by Stephanie Meyer. In this book, Bella   gets married to Edward so she can become a vampire, just like him. After the wedding, they went to Esme's private island for their honeymoon. However, during their honeymoon, but knowing that vampires can reproduce when having coitus with a human being, they had a half human and half vampire baby girl named Renesmee.  After giving birth to the rapid growing child, Bella became a vampire. She had changed in so many different ways, like she is stronger, faster, thirstier, etc. I think that she is no longer herself, that she is like a new Bella. 
  Bella had changed a lot since becoming immortal. She has mostly changed physically, she become stronger, faster, colder, her voice has become bell-toned, huge temper, hungrier for blood, and her eyes are no longer brown, they are red. Adding on, she no longer shows emotions, like blushing, crying, or just the things that show her emotions, like her heart racing, get face becoming paler, stomach growling when she is hungry, yawning when she is tired, etc. However, after she changed, it affected but only her, but everyone else, like Jacob, he no longer loves her, he loves Renesmee. Also Charlie now knows what's going on with all of them being "unnatural". Edward had also changed, he no longer hesitates to kiss her. He also doesn't have to go easy on her, like when they make love, hug, run, basically everything that he couldn't do when she was human is what he does now. In addition, he gets along with Jacob, and Jacob gets along with everyone else. Overall, I think she changed, which also changed her surroundings.
  In conclusion, Bella had changed physically and mentally overall. This, everyone else   changes too in different ways than before she was human. 

Nonfiction Critical Analysis

  In the article, "Smoke Signals" by Alessandra Potenza,  they talk about the new e-cigarette.E-cigarette is an electronic cigarette that doesn't include tobacco, unlike the regular cigarettes, therefore, its healthier. Potenza talks about how some e-cigarettes are unregulated and are becoming more popular among young people. She talks about how some U.S officials are very worried that the e-cigarette is becoming popular among young people because they contain nicotine, which is the same addictive chemical in tobacco cigarettes. They are worried because more than 1.8 million middle and high school teenagers have tried e-cigarettes, and that the amount of young people using these have doubled in 2012 from the previous year. They are afraid that they would become too addicted to these cigarettes, especially because they come in different flavors. Adding on, they don't trust these cigarettes because 1.7 billion electronic cigarettes remain unregulated. I understood this text because Potenza keeps saying how the cigarette has bad chemicals, many young people use it, and  how people have been trying to ban it. For example, she says, "In 2009, after finding several toxic cancer-causing chemicals-including an ingredient used in antifreeze- in various types of e-cigarettes, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to ban them, calling them unapproved drug-delivery gadgets", meaning that they should be banned because they may have some chemicals that are unhealthy for you.
   While reading this article, I noticed that Potenza is trying to make us feel as if e-cigarettes aren't as good/healthy as they seem, that we are being lied to. For example, she says, "Because most e-cigarettes contain nicotine-the same chemical found in tobacco cigarettes- they have stirred debate all over the world." Adding on, her attitude throughout the article proved that she didn't approve of the cigarettes. For example, she says, "Part of the issue with e-cigarettes is the way they're being marketed: They come in flavors like chocolate, bubble gum, or vanilla, which are known to appeal to young people". Overall, Potenza feeds us facts to make us think that e-cigarettes are bad, therefore, making us feel betrayed in a way. 
    After reading this article, my whole perspective on e-cigarettes had changed. I no longer believe that e-cigarettes are healthy, that it can really help some people when it just makes them addicted to some other drug. In addition, I no longer want to try it, I used to see kids my age, or even younger, smoking e-cigarettes, which made me want to try them, to see how it feels, but now I know that it wouldn't be good for me. Instead, I believe that e-cigarettes should be banned because they are addictive, unregulated, and are making some young teens smoke. However, I do want to know a little more about why the e-cigarettes aren't regulated and how they got through without being regulated. Also i would want to know why they would put nicotine in the cigarette if they wanted people to stop being addicted to smoking. Overall, I think that e-cigarettes should be banned or at least stop from being sold to young teens, like they should have an age limit, like regular cigarettes.
   All in all, i think that e-cigarettes are as unhealthy as regular cigarettes are. Moreover, I think that they should be more cautious about who they are selling it to and what they have in the cigarette. 

What Difficult or Complex Things Happen In the Text?

   I am currently reading the book, "Forever in Blue" by Ann Brashares. This book is about 
four friends named Tibby, Carmen, Bridget, and Lena. They all go to college in different 
locations so they are always mailing each other things, especially the "Traveling Pants". The 
traveling pants are jeans that they all wrote on and they all share it. Adding on, they all are studying different things in college, Tibby is and Lena both have an apartment, Carmen is moving on with her job of helping backstage fir the drama club, and Bridget is in Turkey studying bones. However, a lot of difficult and complex things occur in the text.

  The most difficult thing to understand is why they were all in a room, except for Carmen, with candles and snacks surrounding them with the jeans in a big triangle in the middle of the floor. Its difficult to understand because I don't know why they did that or what was going on. In addition, I was wondering if the jeans were good luck or magical to them because they made the jeans seem so sacred. I also wondered why they wrote all over the jeans, was it a new trend in school? Is it a tradition? Did they write on it by accident and then just kept writing on it? All these questions made me think about how they started this tradition or whatever it is. I think that they probably started this by themselves, like one of them bought the jeans and kept getting good luck or something. In addition, whichever one bought it probably came up with the idea of writing on it, to claim it only theirs so nobody would still this good luck from them. Or they could just be witches with magical powers, which could explain why they had candles everywhere. They could have been doing some spells to make the jeans even more magical or powerful. Overall, this was difficult to understand because it was very confusing to understand because i didn't know what they were doing and why they were doing it.

  In conclusion, a lot of difficult and complex things happen in this book because there is no reason for why they do this or what they are doing. In addition, it makes me thing about the many different possibilities of why they do this, which makes me even more confused because I get mixed up with everything. Overall a lot of difficult an complex events occur throughout this fascinating book.

What Difficult or Complex Things Happen in the Text?

 I am currently reading the book “Twilight”, by Stephenie Meyer. The book is about a seventeen year old girl, named Isabella Swan (but prefers Bella), that lived in Phoenix but soon moved to Forks to live with her father. She had to move because her mom’s new boyfriend, Phil, travels a lot, so ended she up gong with him to Florida, leaving Bella to move to Forks for a little while. However, Bella hated Forks because it always rained there and she didn’t want to go to a new school, but did anyway because she wanted her mom to have a good time. While in her new school, Bella eventually gains a lot of new friends and crushes. One of her crushes is Edward Cullen, an eighteen year old teen that was adopted, with four other teens, by a doctor and his wife. Another crush of hers is Jacob, a Fifteen year old teen that is the son of Bella’s dad’s best friend. In fact, Charlie (Bella’s dad) bought Billy’s (Jacob’s dad) old truck for Bella. However, many difficult and complex things occur when she is with them.

            When she is with Edward, difficult things occur because he is so different compared to everyone else. For example, when he saved her getting hit by a van, he left a dent on the front of the van and also lifted it away from her, which would be impossible for a human being. Adding on, before he saved her, he was at his car, which was two spots away in the parking lot, but then was right next to her before the van even got close to her, which is pretty much too fast for a human being. He also didn’t get hurt when he left a dent in the van and lifted it. It seems like he is different, like not human, because he is doing things that is impossible for a seventeen year old teenager.

            In a similar way, when Bella is with Jacob, difficult and complex things happen too. For example, when he tells her about the cold ones story, he includes that his great-grandfather met them and made the treaty for them. I thought that this was difficult to understand because there was no explanation of why his great-grandfather did it, or how he knew them. In addition, Jacob made it seem like the Cullens family were vampires and he was a werewolf. I also thought that it was difficult to understand why Bella believe him when he said that the Cullens were vampires, I thought she would be smart enough to realize that he was probably tricking her or messing with her mind. Overall, I thought that Jacob made it difficult to understand because you couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or not when he said that the Cullens were vampires and he was a werewolf.

            In conclusion, a lot of difficult and complex things occur in this book because you never know if Edward or Jacob is lying. In addition, you can’t tell if they are serious when they talk about how dangerous they can be or how different they are. Overall, the book contains a lot of complex and difficult events. 

Young Adult Books Should Be Banned?

            Young adult books are a very controversial topic today. Many books such as, “Go Ask Alice” or “Wintergirl”, have been discussed many times before. People like librarians, parents, and teachers have been wondering if these books should be banned or not. They believe that these “dark” books are inappropriate for their kids. However, authors of these dark books have been trying to keep them out there. They believe these books can truly help troubled teens, and I agree with them.

            I believe that young adult books should not be banned because they can help troubled teens. For example, “Wintergirl” by Laurie Halse Anderson talks about a teenage girl named Lia that is anorexic and cuts herself. However, she slowly overcomes her problems and eventually gets better and stops cutting herself and eats normally. This can help a teen that is in the same situation, it can slowly help them get better over time, like Lia did. In addition, young adult books can help them learn new things, which can most likely help them in the future. For example, I the book “Go Ask Alice” by Anonymous, tells a story of a girl who becomes addicted to drugs from her friend, can teach teens about drugs and how they affect you. Also they teach you how to hang out with the right kind of people, the ones that will not lead you through the wrong path. Furthermore, teens love young adult books. For example, Gurdon even says, “A number of young adult books made the top 10 in 2010, including Suzanne Collin’s hyper-violent, best-selling ‘Hunger Games’” (Darkness Too Visible), meaning that it is so loved by teens that she got a best-seller.

            However, supporters of the ban claim that young adult books are too “dark”. People like parents, librarians, and teachers, are trying to ban these books because of the content. Parents claim that children shouldn’t be reading these books, however, children aren’t reading these books, teens are. In addition, it is the parent’s responsibility to keep these books away from their children. Additionally, librarians and teachers tried to get a rating system for young adult books, thinking it would stop young children from reading young adult books. However, it would just make kids want to read it even more. In addition, Charlie Higson tweeted “Why was GP Taylor on BBC new suggesting gov’t to introduce measures to keep books out of the hands of teens who want to read them?” (Husna Haq), meaning that it would just take away the opportunity of teens reading books. Also librarians and teachers believe that young adult books could influence kids to do something wrong. However, even Gurdon admits, “Reading about homicide doesn’t turn a man into a murderer; reading about cheating on exams won’t make a kid brake the honor code” (Darkness Too Visible). Moreover, teens wouldn’t be influenced at all by these books but will be educated by them because of their life long lessons.

            Overall, I believe young adult books are more helpful than harmful. They can actually help people and could save the lives of kids who are in a sticky situation. Anyway, even if you take away young adult books from libraries, schools, or stores, teens will most likely get them back somehow because they love them so much. As Williams says, “Darkness isn’t always the enemy, but ignorance always is” (Has young adult fiction become too dark?).  

Paper Town, John Green

  I am currently reading the book, “Paper Towns” by John Green. This book is about a senior named Q, who has two best friends, Radar and Ben. Q is the average high school kid, good grades, doesn’t get into trouble, has friends, not very popular, etc. However, one night, his crush, and most popular girl in school, Margo, came up to his window and asked him to help her on an eleven- step mission. At first, he was hesitant to go with her on a mission at night, but eventually, she convinced him to go with her. He thought it might make their relationship better, wishing that it might result in him taking Margo to prom. However, he never saw that it might change his future, or maybe even himself as a whole.
  Before the night with Margo, Q was a good, intelligent, and kind guy. He never would stay awake on a school night, or even on a weekend. He got good grades, and never broke the rules. He did everything he could to stay on top of his work and keep everything going for just a few weeks until school officially ended. However, he eventually changed after that night with Margo. He broke the rules, didn’t do his homework, went to bed late, and didn’t even study for his final government exam the next day. For example, Q took his mom’s car without permission and left with Margo to help her with the eleven- step mission. In addition, him and Margo broke into three houses, Jason’s (Margo’s cheating boyfriend), Becca’s (Margo’s ex-best friend), and Chuck’s (the bully that bothered Q everyday) and spray painted their cars and house. Adding on, they broke into one of the most popular buildings in Orlando, Florida. Q even ran from a guy shooting a shotgun and the police. Clearly, Margo has made him do things he usually would never even think of.
  But why did Q do all of this? Q did this to prove to Margo that he is good enough to be her boyfriend. He wanted to make Margo fall for him that night, so they can be together, and go to prom together. In addition, he wanted to know more about Margo so that he can impress her. However, he didn’t notice that she was just using him to help her with her mission.
  Overall, I think Q could’ve made the right choice by not going with her because he could get into so much trouble, which could make his future worse. For example, he wouldn’t get into Duke, his dream college. Also he would have a criminal record if he gets caught with all of the crimes he did with Margo that night. I think he should’ve just stayed away from her because she is a bad influence on him.
      

Young Adult Fiction Too Dark?

Young Adult Fiction Too Dark?

            This article, “Has Young Adult Fiction Become Too Dark”, by Mary Elizabeth Williams, is a response to Megan Cox Gurdon’s recent article, “Darkness Too Visible”. Williams mostly talks about how young adult fiction can and cannot be bad for teens. She mostly proves Gurdon’s claims wrong, like how she exaggerates when she talks about the content in young adult books. In addition, Williams explains how Gurdon can be misleading throughout her article. Adding on, Mary gives honest opinions about what she thinks of young adult fiction, and if teens should be reading it or not. For example, she admits, “YA section of your bookstore can be a pretty damn grim place, rife with everything from angsty vampires to sex abuse to bullying. And no, not all of it is great literature.”

            Throughout the articles, Williams gives little hints of what she wants us to think or feel. In the article, she makes Gurdon look so misleading; making us think that she is giving out false details that we shouldn’t acknowledge what she claims about young adult books. For example, Williams says, “And when she clumsily insists, ‘publishers use the vehicle of fundamental free-expression principles to try to bulldoze coarseness or misery into… children’s lives’, she fails to acknowledge the coarseness and misery already inherent in adolescence. She assumes that coarseness and misery- and profanity, and violence, and sex- are in and of themselves unsuitable subject matter, regardless of the quality of the writing. That’s where she goofs up big time.” In addition, she proves Gurdon wrong by using better and truthful facts. For example, she asked her daughter what she thought of Gurdon’s article and she said, “Does she get it that they’re not called ‘children’s’ books? They’re ‘young adult’ Adult.” In addition, Williams wants us to feel like we can trust young adult books, she explains how most young adult books can relate and help troubled teens.

            Overall, this article has changed the way I look at YA books and how I feel about them, I feel like I can relate to the books more. Adding on, I changed what I thought on this issue, I now support young adult books because they change most teen’s life and they can teach memorable lessons for us in the future. However, I would like to know more about how many teens had there life changed from a young adult book.

Faithful Elephants Blog Post

            The story, “Faithful Elephants: A true Story of Animals, People, and War,” by Yukio Tsuchiya, is about three elephants named Tonky, Wanly, and John. These three elephants lived in a zoo called the Ueno Zoo during world war two. These three elephants had to be killed, sadly, because the army commanded them to, they were afraid the elephants were going to run wild through the city. When the time came, each elephant was starved to death. It was a very hard time for the zoo keepers.

            It was very hard for the zoo keepers because they cared for the elephants for so long. For example, when it was john’s turn to die, they just wanted to get over with it by poisoning his food so he didn’t have to suffer from starvation. However, John was far to smart to eat poisoned potatoes, so the zoo keepers decided, “As it seems to be no other way, we must inject poison into his body.” They brought a syringe and tried to poison him with a needle, however, that didn’t work either because his skin was too thick. Thus, they ended up starving him to death. The zoo keepers were heartbroken.

            When it came to Wanly and Tonky, the zoo keepers were devastated. Tonky and Wanly had to also be starved to death. The zoo keepers loved them so much that they were willing to send them to Sendai, but they were afraid bombs were going to be dropped there too.  In addition, their trainer loved them so much that when they did their famous Bonzai trick he fed them food because he couldn’t stand to see them suffer anymore. “Oh, Tonky, Oh, Wanly!” he wailed, “Here!” he said sobbing, and clung to their thin legs, “Eat your food! Please drink. Drink your water!” Moreover, the zoo keepers pretended not to se anything, nor did they try to stop him, they too wanted them to survive while they could. Furthermore, they and the trainer could no longer bare to see the elephants suffer anymore, in result, stopped visiting them. Consequently, the elephants died while doing the Bonzai trick. “Stop the war! Stop all wars!” implored the zoo keepers when they found elephant’s thin bodies in their cage. This proves that they didn’t want the elephants to die, not like this. In addition, the zoo keeper telling the story also felt the same way because he was also crying.

            In conclusion, the zoo keepers did care for all the elephants very much. They did all they could to keep them alive, fed them, gave them water, even tried to let them die painlessly with poison (instead of starving them). In addition, they did what the elephants would’ve wanted, to be buried under the monument, peacefully. I also think that their death was probably really hard for not only the zoo keepers, but the visitors that came to the zoo just to see the elephants. I think that they would miss them doing the Bonzai trick. Adding on, I think their death was taken the hardest by the trainer because he trained and took care of them for most of their life. In the same way, I would have felt broken too if my cat, Bella, was forced to die of starvation. Overall, their death was very devastating to everyone.