Non-Fiction Blog Post

I read the article New HD footage of Felix Baumgartner's incredible leap to Earth by Mike Krumboltz on news.yahoo.com. This article is about a man named Felix Baumgartner who jumped from twenty five miles above sea level(in space). When you read the article and watch the video, you immediately have terrified thought. But the true beauty of the event comes when you push those those thoughts aside and look closely at what you can see and hear.

When you first read the article, you immediately think that you would never do what Felix did and that it was crazy.  That’s the normal human reaction to dramatic actions. Twenty five miles above sea level is so high that you can see almost all of the Earth by just looking down. The problem with these reactions though is that your thoughts about this become very limited. All you feel is confusion to why Felix did this, or doubt that you could ever do he same. What you immediatly saw clouded what your thoughts about the good sides to this.

When I really started to pay attention to this, I noticed how beautiful it was up there. "I wish you could see what I can see," Felix said before he jumped. "Sometimes, you have to get up really high to understand how small you are." When he was up there, he wasn’t freaking out, he was paying attention to the scene, taking in as much as he could before he couldn’t see it anymore. He learned as much as he could before he was back on Earth.

After reading this article, I felt really inspired. When Felix said that you needed to be high up to realize how small we are, it put a whole new perspective into my mind. I recommend watching the video and reading the mini article that came with it. It inspires to look closer at lots of experiences that are extreme. And, to also not be afraid to try some of them. There is a hidden beauty to all.

Close Reading Blog Post

I read the book Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not So Graceful Ice Princess by Rachel Renee Russell. This book is about Niki Maxwell, a girl who attends a private school on her dad’s exterminator contract. She decides to enroll in the school’s ice skating competition with her best friends Zoe and Chloe. The only downside is that she doesn't know how to ice skate. In the middle of the book, Niki and her family attend the Nutcracker performance. Her little sister Brianna hops onto the stage and attacks the land of sweets costumes and props, thinking they’re real. After closely reading this part of the book, I noticed that everyone is looking at her physical actions, but not why Brianna did them. I think that this section of the book is about growing up and facing reality.

To organize my thinking, I put this situation into layers of a cake, since Brianna had really wanted one. During the performance, Brianna hopped onto the stage and wreaked havoc. She bit into all of the props and costumes for the Land of Sweets, thinking they were real. All the adults payed attention to the layer they could physically see because they were too upset to look into why she did so. This layer would be the top layer. This is the layer that people immediatly look over to, because it is the one that is easiest to see. It is the most decorated and least questioned.

After analyzation, I have realized the reason why Brianna did what she did. All kids go through a stage when they’re little where they believe that things such as fairies or magical creatures exist. Anything that sounds good is real to them. Brianna is only seven, and I believe that this is why she attempted to eat the props and costumes from the Land of Sweets set. While everyone else knew that everything was fake, Brianna’s mind was completely fooled, and she was quickly lured onto the stage by the sweets. Also, when Brianna bit into the items and realized into they were fake, it was the universe’s way of letting her know that it wasn’t true.That those fantasies and fairy tales were fake. She was growing up and facing reality. This would be the bottom layer of the cake. This is the most important layer of the cake. It holds up the rest of the layers, yet it is least payed attention to or appreciated.

To conclude my thoughts, Brianna’s actions showed her growing up and facing reality versus her kiddy fantasies. This connects to the world because this happens to every little kid. Not every kid jumps onto the stage and attacks props during a performance of the Nutcracker, but every kid has beliefs on fairies or makes imaginary friends. Also, every kid has to face reality somehow. For some, maybe their imaginary friend passes on, or they experience something similar to Brianna, where they figure it out through a certain event.

Fox blog post

              I read the book Fox, by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks. This is about two friends named Dog and Magpie, who meet Fox who tries to break them up. After reading the book, the first impression you get of Fox is that he is cold hearted and mean. But after analyzing Fox's actions and words, I noticed that there was something more to him. I think a few words that describe Fox are envious, desperate, and lonely. This characteristics can be found in all of his actions, descriptive words, and dialogue.

            
             One descriptive word I came up with was desperate. I do think this is a word to describe Fox because in the end of the book, Fox takes Magpie to the desert and leaves her there. Before he leaves, he tells Magpie that he did it so that Dog and Magpie would feel what it was like to be "truly alone." Fox had been alone for a really long time. The definition of desperation is to be feel hopeless and to have no satisfactory options. I think Fox felt that someone else feeling his pain would make it go away. This happens to many people around us. The common bully. Bullies are usually people who have gone through tough times and take their emotions out on others to make themselves feel better, which is exactly what Fox has done to Magpie and Dog.

              Another descriptive word for Fox is envious. This is because he had been alone for a long period of time And then all of a sudden he meets Dog and Magpie, who have an extremely important bond. They both depend on each other for happiness, Dog as Magpie's wings and Magpie as Dog's other eye. Fox saw that they depended on each other like that, and how they always had each other and got envious. He had never experienced anything like that and it pushed him off the edge of semi sanity. His envy made him attempt to break up Dog and Magpie, so he wouldn't have anything to be envious of.


               My last descriptive word is lonely. I think this because there was one thing that set off his envy and desperation. And that is loneliness. If he had others around him for his entire life, he wouldn't have ever been lonely. He would have met Dog and Magpie, and just became their friend. Magpie wouldn't be in the desert and Dog wouldn't be alone.


          In conclusion, Fox is very envious, desperate, and lonely. The evidence for this is in all of his descriptions, dialogue, and actions. After thinking a little about these words, I realized that I don't feel disgusted by Fox, or feel he is a horrible character. I do actually feel sorry for him. It's not his fault that he was alone for such a long time. Imagine yourself in the city, with just a bunch of strangers. You didn't know where you were, and didn't know anybody there. You had nothing and you had to live through this. Nobody should feel that lonely. But unfortunately for Fox, that was his life.

Best of 2013

I have read many amazing books in 2013. But there were three books that stood out the most to me. These books are Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, and Dauntless by Veronica Roth. They are all fiction books, and involve a type of sci-fi.

Before I Fall is about a sixteen year old girl named Samantha Kingston who dies in a car crash and relives the last day of her life seven times. Each time she relives a day, she realizes how cruel she had been to other people and how her friends were all bullies. I love this book because its funny and meaningful. Every day, Samantha tries to fix her mistakes and be kind to others. The author is also constantly promoting the message "your actions can have a big impact on someone else's life." One example of this is that Samantha and her friends had bullied a girl named Juliet Sykes for a really long time. Juliet committed suicide because of her frustration. This is a good example because if Samantha had been nicer to Juliet, Juliet wouldn't be pushed to the point where she couldn't live anymore.    

City of Bones is about a girl named Clary Fray, who finds out she is a Shadow hunter, a race of humans with a little angel blood who are dedicated to killing demons. She is sucked into the Shadow hunter world when her mom is kidnapped by Valentine, a villain dedicated to destroying Downworlders(warlocks, werewolves, faeries, and vampires). I love this book because it includes the three characteristics I enjoy in a book and has a very captivating plot line. The author does an amazing job with mixing humor, romance, and action in only four hundred eighty five pages. I was never bored  and immediately got the urge to not put the book down until it was finished.

Dauntless is about a girl named Beatrice who moves to a faction(group) named Dauntless and has to survive their initiation. This book, like City of Bones, contained romance, humor, and a truck load of action. This book had me and the edge of my seat, even when the characters were just conversationing. The author did a marvelous job with keeping the reader entertained, but also asking sure the reader could connect with the characters. For example, in the beginning of the book, Beatrice had to chose if she was going to stay in her home, or to move to another faction. She had her parents pressuring her to stay, just like most kids have their parents pressuring them to do good in school.

I read lots of books in 2013, and there were many that I loved a lot. It was hard to narrow it down to one, so I tried to figure out my top three favorites. I would recommend these books to everyone who hasn't read them. And if they have, then I recommend the rest of the series. They were all inspiring reads, and I hope that others can enjoy them just as much as I do in the future.

City of Bones

             I read the book City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare. Clary Fray is a normal girl who lives in Brooklyn. But after one birthday trip to a club named Pandemonium, everything changed. There, Clary meets a group of shadow hunters, people who fight demons. Their names are Isabelle, Alec, and Jace. The story goes on and tells about the adventures Clary goes on as she is whisked into the chaotic world of shadow hunters. Shadow hunters have to kill demons, and protect people from downworlders who mean harm (warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and faeries). This includes saving her friend Simon, who had been turned into a rat and kidnapped by vampires. I think the theme of this book is life isn't fair, but those who are determined enough can change that. This is because throughout the book, bad things are happening to Clary, but her fierce determination helped her fix some problems.

           One way how Clary is determined is that she attempts to regain her memories that might save the world, even though that will cause pain and a total invasion of her privacy. Clary finds out from a witch that someone has placed a spell on her that makes her forget all memories from the shadow world. She goes to the Silent Brothers, a group of men who can't speak and can read people's minds and memories, to see if they can see beyond the block. But when they do that, they can see everything she thinks and has ever done.It's also a painful process. This supports my claim because some thing bad happened to Clary. Most people would ask how to fix it, but then say oh well when they heard how to fix it. But Clary was determined enough and went through the process. Her determination convinced her to go through with it. And that's something that most people don't posses.

           Another way that Clary is determined is that her BFF Simon got turned into a rat and kidnapped by vampires and she went to rescue him, knowing she might not come back. She and her shadow hunter friends went to a party and Simon drank a potion by accident. He was turned into rat and some vampires took him home, thinking that he was one of their friends. Clary realized what was happening and told her friends. They told her to forget Simon because the vampires would kill her for breaking into their territory. But she went anyways and brought him back home safely. This supports my claim because Clary was willingly risking her life to save Simon. While most would forget him, she did some thing beyond extraordinary. She was determined to save him and she did it with everyone telling her she would never make it out.

        The last way that Clary is determined is that she went after a villain, also her father, named Valentine who had captured her mom. She knew that he would kill Clary so she wouldn't get the mom. He wanted her because she had a very powerful weapon and wanted to know where it was. This supports my claim because her determination convinced her to save her mom and face her father. And everyone tried to stop her but she went. If there was more of her determination in the world, there would be much less problems in the world.

           In conclusion, I think the message in City of Bones is that life isn't fair, but those who are determined can fix some of those problems. This is because Clary faces many hardships, but overcomes them with fierce determination. I just wish that everyone would have this type  of determination. This would make many problems go away. Laziness would be gone and less people would complain. so i think that everyone should try to be as determined Clary. I think they would find it making their lives better for not only themselves, but others too.

The Hunger Games

Everyone has nightmares about kids being killed. But what if you were the one killing them? Katniss Everdeen participated in the Hunger Games, a game where 24 children from different areas are forced to kill each other. When her district is picking the candidates, Katniss's little sister, Primrose, is picked to fight. But knowing she could never survive, Katniss volunteered to take her place. I think that what Suzanne Collins is trying to show us in  The Hunger Games is the inequality between the rich and poor. I think this because in many areas of the book, Suzanne makes the poor have the worst of treatment, versus the rich who have the best treatment.

The most noticeable difference between he rich and poor is food. The districts have very little food. Katniss even has to hunt in illegally in the forest behind district 12 to get very little food for her family. But ever since Katniss got on the train to the Capitol, she has gotten massive amounts of very fancy food. I think this supports my claim because the rich got lots of food while the poor had almost none. the poor were starving on most nights while the rich had leftovers on others.

Another reason that supports my claim is the Tessera system. The reaping is when candidates' names are picked out of a bowl to participate in the games. Anyone can be picked, but the Tessera system made it more likely for the poor to be picked. The Tessera system is where people can get food and oil from the government. But in exchange, the government puts your name in the picking bowl a certain amount of times. the more you take, the more times your name is put in. This supports my claim because the poor don't have enough food, so they would use the Tessera system a lot more than the rich, who don't need food from the government. This makes it more likely for a poor person to be picked, since their name would be put in many times.

In conclusion, I think what Suzanne Collins is trying to show in The Hunger Games is the inequality between the rich and poor. She shows us this in many areas of the book, from the beginning to the end. I think there's more to what she is saying though. I think this message also works for our world because you can see the difference between the rich and poor here too. the poor may have a small house and cheap clothes, while the rich have a big house and designer clothes. But something I also noticed is there is no middle class in this book. in our world, we have people who aren't rich, or poor. in Panem though, there is no such thing. either you're struggling to stay alive, or you're living a lavish life with all luxuries. 

Divergent

Everyone has that special someone. And for Beatrice, that someone is Tobias. I read the book Divergent  by Veronica Roth. This book is about a girl named Beatrice Prior, who chooses to leave her home faction*(Abnegation) and join a another faction called Dauntless. But this new home is very different than her old home. Here, she can do many things she couldn't do in Abnegation. And along the way she meets new friends, as well as enemies. The theme of this book is "love conquers all". This is because her love for Tobias, her friends, and her family helps her overcome many barriers. 

When Beatrice joins Dauntless, she changes her name to Tris. She meets and falls in love with her instructor, Four(Tobias). Later on, there is a battle between Dauntless and another faction named Erudite. Later on in the battle, she faints and wakes up in a tube that’s filling up fast with water. She tries to break out but fails. As she is preparing for herself to die, she sees her mother. She thinks to herself that she cant leave her mother and breaks out of the tube. This connects to my theme because her love for her mom determined her to break out. And when you love someone, you do things for them that you would probably be better off avoiding. If Tris's mom never came, Tris would have died then, and not have to face the pain that awaits her in a few minutes. 

Another time when my theme is demonstrated is at the end when Tris tries to end the battle. Tobias is stuck in a simulation* where he thinks he is shutting down the system that is controlling the Erudites army when really, he is keeping it running. When Tris arrives, Tobias mistakens her for the enemy. He threatens to shoot. She tries to snap him out of it, and finally succeeds when telling him "Its me Tobias. Tris." He goes to the computer, shuts it down, then tells her he only needed to hear her name. This is important because the scene demonstrates my theme. If someone else charged in instead of Tris, Tobias would have shot them and they would be dead. But Tris had a strong connection to Tobias. And that's how she saved him and avoided being shot.

In conclusion, I think the message in Divergent is "love  conquers all." This is because her love for Tobias, her friends, and her family helped her overcome many hardships. The character Tris taught me more than just "love conquers all". She taught me that its actually part of a bigger message. This message is "love makes the world go round." This is important because love makes everyone happier and can be found anywhere from a person to even a toy car. When Tris fell in love with Tobias, she became a much happier person. She stopped threatening people and always making rude remarks. So think about it. Who is your special person? And does that person make you act like Tris?
vocab
*faction- group or clique
*simulation-the act or process of pretending; feigning.