1599-Done with Blogs AT LAST!!!

April 4, 2012 by

 Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi, is a fantastic novel in which Nailer, a teenage boy, works long, hard days on the Light Crew, stripping huge, old, broken down ships for scavenge in the Gulf Coast. However, when he and his crew member Pima discover a wrecked clipper boat with various types of precious cargo, their lives are changed in more ways than they ever could have imagined.

The character that experienced the most change throughout the novel was Nita, also called Lucky Girl. Nita is a prissy rich girl that Nailer and Pima found on the clipper boat. Pima was about to kill her for the gold on her fingers but something in Nailer made him stop Pima. Nita lives a life of luxury. She has all the food she needs and more, enough gold and riches to fill a boat, and servants to wait on her night and day. She is not used to Coast life where food is scare and people are killed and attacked frequently. However, Nita comes to adapt to this life with Nailer. As they travel to New Orleans to find Nita’s people, she is determined to be accepted and work as hard as anybody else. I felt this was expressed in the quote below.

“She was still swank, and still did weird swank things, but she also showed a determination to carry her weight that Nailer was forced to respect”

Because she allowed for part of her luxurious life to be pushed away and a new one to claim part of her, Nita definitely experienced the most change as a character in the book Ship Breaker.

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 2 Comments

1278-So.Close.

April 4, 2012 by

In North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, Terra, a senior in high school, struggles to deal with an abusive father and a facial birthmark. In the midst of all the chaos, she stumbles upon a Goth boy named Jacob who may change everything.

The novel North of Beautiful reminded me of the book Outer Beauty. Not because the titles are similar but because one of the characters in each novel must struggle with an abusive father.  In North of Beautiful the abuse is emotional. Terra’s father is constantly sneering and jabbing at Terra, her mother, and Terra’s older brothers. It takes a toll on Terra and her mother. Terra’s father is very controlling with fear and can scare Terra’s mother into almost anything.  In Outer Beauty, Maddie is both physically and emotionally abused by her father, Mr. Bronson. He hit her with a belt, spanked her, and wouldn’t let her say anything of her own will. It was like her was brain-washing her and controlling her with fear, just like Terra’s father. Because both of these books involve one character having an abusive father, I can relate them to each other.

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

905-A Corner of the Library

April 4, 2012 by

In A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin, an 11 year old girl named Hattie discovers she has a mentally disabled uncle that her parents never told her about. Her summer is turned upside down by this and a new friend from the carnival.

My least favorite character of A Corner of the niverse was definitely Nana. Nana is Hattie’s stuck-up snotty grandmother who owns a beautiful house and is also the mother of Hattie’s uncle Adam. I guess I wouldn’t dislike her so much if it was just her snootiness that put a bitter taste in my mouth but it’s much more than that. It’s the fact that Nana keeps Adam, “imprisoned” inside her fancy home.  She won’t let him go anywhere on his own and if he acts abnormally, he gets punished. I don’t think this is fair because Adam can’t help it if his mental disorder causes him to act a little crazy sometimes. I also don’t think it is fair for her to keep Adam cooped up all the time. He’s a grown man and though he may be a little mental, he is almost exactly like everybody else.  He should be free to do as he pleases, not as how Nana pleases.  Because of the way she treats Adam, Nana is definitely my least favorite character in this novel.

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

716-A Million Pages!

March 28, 2012 by

In A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata, a young elephant handler named Y’Tin must hide in the jungle after escaping from the Viet Cong’s camps when his village was invaded during the Vietnam War.

I actually really liked this book because I had never read anything like it before! However, every book has its ups and downs. I really liked how Kadohata described everything extremely well and with great detail. I felt like I could picture everything that was happening. On the other hand, I really wish that the author had spent more time in the Viet Cong’s camp because I felt like that part of the novel moved way too fast, like their was much more to the story than she was telling us. If I were her, I would have spent more time in the camp and less time escaping. Overall, this novel was very interesting and I would recommend to almost anybody!

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

500-The Beauty of Reading

March 28, 2012 by

In Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata, four half-sisters who share a special bond, are seperated for the first time in their lives. Shelby, a 13 year old girl, is forced to live with her father after her mother experiences terrible injuries from a car crash and can no longer take care of them. The other three sisters are sent to their fathers as well.  As time goes on, the three older sisters must rescue the youngest from an abusive father before time runs out.

I really liked this book but I think Kadohata could have expressed more people’s thoughts and feelings. Maddie, the youngest, was the girl recieving the abuse and I think she should have contributed to the book a little more.  I felt like I was only getting one part of the story by hearing only Shelby’s thoughts. Points of view can make or break a novel but I think putting at least Maddie’s thoughts in the book would have definetly improved it. I was very curious to see what was happening with Mr. Bronson, Maddie’s abusive father.  Maddie’s abuse was what the second half of the book focused on and I didn’t completely understand it. It was like a couple pieces of the puzzle were missing from this story. However, Shelby’s point of view was written very well and the story was strong enough to stand by itself.

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

235-A Fantastic Start

March 25, 2012 by

I started this quarter off with The Big Nothing by Adrian Fogelin.  In this fiction novel, Justin Riggs, a middle school boy, is trying to cope with his family troubles including a dad who left, a depressed mother, and a brother who is getting shipped off to the Persian Gulf.  He finds his utopia through playing piano.

The Big Nothing reminds me of my own life because like Justin, I play piano. Justin felt like he could escape when he played piano, like everything would be okay when it wasn’t. That’s how I feel when I play. I can just sit there, letting the music flow, my troubles melting away. It helps me unwind after a busy day because I’m concentrating on one thing. However, Justin was in his first year and I’m on my seventh year of lessons . Therefore, piano isn’t exactly relaxing because it gets a lot harder as one progresses. Overall, I can relate my life to the main character, Justin’s, because we both play piano and it can help us forget what’s going on in our lives.

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 2 Comments

1692-DONE AT LAST!

January 24, 2012 by

Fire in the Hills by Donna Jo Napoli was the sequel of Stones in Water. Roberto has joined the Italian resistance, colliding with danger head-first and diving into the action of the terrible war along with Volpe Rossa, Rina, and many others that help and guide him along the way.

I chose to critique the novel which left me looking at the extremely hard job ahead of me like it was a train rushing towards me. Let me say this first; the writing was amazing. All points of view were covered, plots were explained in detail, and the craft of the book was fantastic. A more in depth critique would include the fact that traditional Italian words and parts of resistance songs were included, which in my opinion, added to the realism of the story. I loved how the author was careful to cover every piece of evidence that this book was written after the war. Her details were spot-on and very real. It was as if I walked through a wardrobe, but instead of finding Narnia, I found Italy caught in the war. Overall, the author’s work was very satisfying and my critique has not negative points!

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 3 Comments

1477-So Close to Being Done With Blogs!

January 19, 2012 by

I read The Cloud Chamber by Joyce Maynard. This sad yet thrilling book takes place in the late ’60′s on a farm in Montana. A 14 year old boy, Nate, has been shocked by what he found when he came home one peaceful afternoon; his father, coming from the barn, covered in blood. Suddenly, his life is turned upside down as secrets slowly reveal themselves, friends come and leave, and in the midst of it all, a science project takes the spotlight.

I chose to compare and contrast Nate and Junie, his little sister. Both Nate and Junie know that something has happened to their father. Nate, being older, is bitter at his mother for keeping secrets about his father from him. Junie too is bitter at her mother but for less important childish things like Bucky, her skittish pony, whom the family had to sell. Nate and Junie are connected through the mystery of their father and the thing that differs is the attitude they have towards it. Nate, being older, sees their mother as the culprit. He wants to see his father terribly but knows that some risks can’t be taken. Junie, on the other hand, is a happy-go-lucky six year old who thinks everybody deserves to love and be loved. Her chipper spirit and good heart can get in the way of her common sense sometimes. For example, because she wants to see her father, she tries to ride a skittish and easily spooked pony for a long distance.  Junie  doesn’t have the burning flame of angry for her mother like Nate does. Sure, sometimes there are sparks but they flicker and die before long. Overall, Junie and Nate both know something terrible has happened but their attitudes differ greatly towards the issue.

 

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

1203-With Every Page I Read

January 16, 2012 by

With Every Drop of Blood by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier was a fantastic novel about a boy, Johnny,  living in Virgina whose dad died. Johnny heads off with his family’s oxen team and wagon to earn some money by bringing supplies to the Confederates. Along the way, he is captured by an African American fighting for the Union.

I felt a rainbow of emotions while reading this book. It covers a very touchy topic: how the white treated the black during history. I first felt sadness for Cush, the African American, when he asks Johnny to teach him to how to read in exchange for food. Johnny “fake-teaches” Cush by explaining words in ways that make no sense. I then felt happiness when Johnny and Cush become friends gradually throughout the novel. I  felt Cush’s sense of betrayal when he finds that Johnny wasn’t actually teaching him to read. I again felt sadness and a bit of anger when I realize that Cush’s section of the Union is all African-American, finding that whites and blacks didn’t stay together in the army. Relief was felt by all, me included, when the war finally ceased. I could go on and on like this because the novel took so many emotional twist and turns. Overall, the book was very good in making you feel what the characters felt and allowing you to run wild with your emotions.  

 

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

968-Stones in Water, Racking Up the Pages

January 16, 2012 by

Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli was a terrific read. Roberto, an Italian boy, is captured along with his best friend, Samuele, by German Nazi’s while at a theater. Even though Italy and Germany are both part of the Axis Powers, Italians are sent to war camps for the war. Roberto and Samuele, who is a Jew, are brought to a filthy work camp full of hunger, death, and struggle. Roberto must try to find a way for him and his friend to escape and find their war-broken way back to their home.

In the work camp the boys are given meager amounts of brot(German for bread), cheese, and sausage. Samuele is a Jew, which means he cannot eat pork, and even when he is extremely famished, he will not eat the sausage but rather trade it to Roberto for his cheese. Another person at the camp also threatens Samuele everyday into giving up his brot, leaving Samuele very hungry. A lucky, or unlucky, discovery of the chicken coop leads to my least favorite part of the book. The boys steal eggs and eat them raw for a long time. It gives them strength to carry on in the terrible work camp. One day, Roberto takes eggs from the tops shelf, instead of the middle as always. When Samuele and he crack open the eggs, they find chicks that are only days away from hatching. Revolted, Roberto gives them to Samuele, who actually eats the unborn chicks! My stomach lurched at this point. I know; we eat chicken and eggs and its no big deal. But seriously, think about eating a whole baby chick! I really hated this part of the book because it made me disgusted and sad. I understand why Samuele ate them. When you’re starving, you’re starving. I guess I just love baby chickens too much to hear about them getting eaten!

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

« Previous Entries