Blog Reflection

From creating this blog I learned it was helpful to me to talk about my book while or after reading it because it helped further my thinking on questions I had during the story. I benefited from this experience because though sometimes it was a pain to keep up, my blog helped me improve as a reader. I got to talk out my thinking and answer problems I had with the story. This is different from writing online because it seems faster to type than write in a notebook. But it's similar because both ways can be used to express the same ideas. It's more liberating here on the blog because it's more public and easier to share with others. But limited because you need to be careful of what you say.

I think it depends on the person because some people are more real online but some do create online personalities. Some teenagers might use the freedom they have online badly, but I don't think most do. Of course people type things they would never say to someones face, because they can hide behind a fake personality and be fake themselves. It's so easy to pretend to someone your not and even easier online, I mean, this is where cyber bullying takes place. It's a horrible thing if you not able to control yourself because someone could get hurt.

I don't really see myself keeping up this blog because though it was helpful at times, it was mostly a pain. Overall I think blogs are cool if your passionate about what your talking about or you uphold the idea of your blog. They can be helpful to others and your self which is nice.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

I am currently reading "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's about a boy named Oskar who now lives alone with his mother, after his father expectantly died in the attack of 9/11. His grandmother and him were, and still are really close. In the book other peoples story (of the family) are put in between different chapters. Him and his father always set up games together, where you had to look and find clues. Some were harder, some easier. Oskar found something that could have been a clue almost a year after his father's death, and all of a sudden he started to see more clues in his fathers belongings.

The key he found meant so much to him because he didn't know it existed. Also because it was months after 9/11, so it felt more powerful to him. Oskar went all over NYC to collect clues because he felt he had to. In another one if these clue games, it took so long for Oskar to get clues and he pointed out that the more her looked, the more confused he was, and the less he knew.

All in all, I think Oskar is going to spend the rest of the book trying to solve his dads last puzzle, if it even is one. Or maybe just a secret, he was keeping from everyone.

Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli

I have recently started reading "Star Girl," by Jerry Spinelli. I've heard people talk about this book that they read when they were younger,  but since I've never read it, I decided to. It's about a very unique girl who calls herself Star Girl. She started a High School in Arizona with a boy named Leo, after being home schooled for her whole life. At first her outgoing ways are insulted, then eventually become an important part of the school.

I think the school kids were first so skeptical of her ways because they had just seen no one like her before. Who was so ego - less and put everyone in front of herself. But also because of her caring ways, they learned to like her. And that's when everyone started to express themselves, instead of being the whole body of school they used to be. Before Star Girl, the main character once said that anyone who started to express individuality would snap back like a rubber band.

All in all, she did endure a lot of bullying before she began to be accepted. If a school was such strict principals was introduced to someone with such little principles it's not surprising to see them react with such confusion. I think the moral of this story is to accept all people, and how they act. I think this book sticks with that theme throughout the whole story, with their examples of bullying and impressions.

Romeo and Juliet Essay

In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, he creates a story of love, death, and sacrifice. The Montague s and Capulet's are always fighting, and they are sworn enemies. Romeo and Juliet don't have a lot of independence because of their roles in society, parents expectations, and their secret love.

The Montague and Capulet family are both high class in their society. In Act 1 in the book, Juliet's family threw a big party and that's when Romeo, Mercutio and their friends sneak in. "Through fair Verona, find those persons out/ whose name are written there, and to them say/ my house and welcome on their pleasure stay." (1.2.36-38) That was said by Lord Capulet when sending out the serving man to give out the invitations. Though Romeo is a Montague, he doesn't fight with the Capulet's constantly like his cousins do.  "O, the people in the street cry "Romeo", /some "Juliet", and some "Paris", and all run/ with open outcry toward our monument." (5.3.198-200) Because people know and support those characters in the book and their town.

Their parent expect Romeo and Juliet to do well, for her to be obedient and respectful, and Romeo to be quiet and good. Her parents set Juliet up for an arranged marriage and expected her to go along with it. "The Country Paris, at Saint Peters Church/ shall happily make thee a joyful bride." (3.5.199-120) And because of the families outrageous fights, the Prince had to break them up. "Montague, come you this afternoon/ to know our farther pleasure in this case, /to old Free - Town, our common judgement place." (1.1.102-104) The word "common" shows that is happens a lot that they meet. His cousins are expected to cause trouble with the Capulet family.

Romeo and Juliet is a famous story to people of forbidden love. Their families hated each other they couldn't eb seen together. "I hate the word/ as I hate hell, all Montagues,/ and thee." (1.1.71-72) So even if there was a chance for them to be together it had to be in secret. Their families would stop them from being together if either of them found out Romeo and Juliet's relationship or marriage. In the quote, Tybalt is expressing his hate for Romeo and the Montague family.

All in all, Romeo and Juliet had very little independence. Between their parents views, societies views, and family feuds, they both had to keep their love secret.

Clouded Leopard Declared Extinct in Taiwan

I recently read the non - fiction article, "Clouded Leopard Declared Extinct in Taiwan," by Douglas Main. It's about a new study about how the Clouded Leopards have now been declared extinct by Taiwan's Central News Agency. The only one left is stuffed in a museum. Even the United states have been looking for them in Taiwan with no results since 2001. There has also been 1,500 set up in the mountains of Taiwan with no results either.

I think it's really sad how a whole species of animal can become extinct. It shows how not enough precaution was shown the protect it. Oblivious all animals are important to keep safe, even a few numbers of them. There could have been a few taken into captivity a few years ago. That thought probably never occurred to zoologist because maybe they thought that that wouldn't be needed now. And that it wasn't necessary, then and now.

The authors purpose was the explain this new finding about the leopards extinction. I think it's a really interesting and sad topic. But his article was informative and wasn't bias.

How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

I just started the book, "How Not to be Popular," by Jennifer Ziegler. It's about a girl named Maggie,  whose17 and all she's done is move from place to place her whole life, never more then 8 months. Making friends and finally adjusting to her new home, then leaving again to the next place. It seems like she would never learn until she is moving to her new home in Austin, TX, and has the idea to simply NOT be friends with anyone. To be the weird one and the loner type, but I think this is a good idea and bad idea because it could backfire, and she might have people try to be friends with her.

Even though I understand that Maggie just doesn't want to have anything to loose when she leaves Austin, I think this plan could go really wrong. Or there could be a plot twist and she has to stay here longer than expected. Already in the book she turned the popular girl group down in class, and also  a chance to sit at the popular lunch table twice. It's nice that she really wants to keep to her plan, and I understand how hard it can be to change schools and have to make new friends. And with her schedule of always moving around, it must be really painful to loose connections with all the friends you used to have.

All in all I think Maggie should be careful on the actions she makes over the next months in Texas, and realize even though she doesn't want friends, she might accidentally make them. Some people just don't know how to get a clue, and those might be the people that latch on to her because they want a friend.

Hunger May Be Driving Spike in Sea Lion Strandings

I recently read, "Hunger May Be Driving Spike in Sea Lion Strandings," by Megan Gannon. It was an article about little sea lion pups being found on the shores on South California. Nearly 1,100 have been found. Biologists are mostly clueless as why, but their best guess' are hunger. Environmental issues have killed their normal food of sardines and anchovies, so they are left with barely nothing to eat. Some have been rescued on shores and brought into captivity.

I think what's best for the pups right now is to move them into captivity. It's going to just be safer for them, older sea lions can adjust their diets easily to a new food, but it's much harder for the little sea lions. Some of the ones have been found with lice, but that is not the reason they have been washed up on shores. Some was even found with pesticides on and in them, but I think those are more secondary causes. In shelters, they can be better taken care of until they are better. Though no one can help all the sea lions still in the oceans, we can feed the ones that we can reach to make them better.

It's sad to hear this because getting food to all the animals who have been losing it is impossible. Environmental conditions have been targeting all of us, which of course includes animals. The hard part is try to help them.

Blog Review

I think Kimberlee's post on Love and Other 4 letter words was one of her best. She really expresses her thoughts on the book and the main character. It's was an interesting topic about the self conscious feelings, that I thought she expressed really well. I've read some of her other posts before and I've noticed that she really tries to incorporate her own feelings of the book in her summaries of them.

From her blog, I think I can learn to talk more about the characters of the book. In mine I like to write about the other characters in the story, or the connections the main character has to them. But I think I can learn more about how to focus on the main characters and about their roles in the story, I think that makes the post more relatable to other people. And I know I can make more text to self connections or other connections to the story that way.

13 Gifts by Wendy Mass 2

I am still reading "13 Gifts,"  by Wendy Mass. Tara is now in the town of Willow Falls and is actually impressed in small ways. Though she didn't expect much of the small town, the people there have surprised her. Even on her second day in the town, she's already made new friends! Which is really unlike the usually Tara, being pretty reserved, and staying away from people she might become close to. I think she is doing this because of all the moves she's gone through over her life.

Tara has moved many times, and has learned not to get to attached because she is probably going to move again soon. But this has always been a conflict for her, because her mom has always pushed her to be very social. I think her mom just wants Tara to make the most of whatever place they are in. But really, I think Tara just needs to stay in one place and make real friends. Even though that is out of her comfort zone, she is finding out how amazing friendships can be in Willow Falls.

All in all I think Tara is going to make new friends and want to stay in Willow Falls longer than just the summer. She is also going to find out why she belongs there, because she can relate to many of the new characters in the book in small ways. And even though the author makes the place of Willow Falls seem very unique, and she makes the people seem like that too. Like her cousin is a math genius, and two new friends only communicate through black boards to each other. While even though Tara is shy to the new town now, I can't wait to see her understand it better.

13 Gifts by Wendy Mass

I recently started reading "13 Gifts," by Wendy Mass. It's about 12 year old Tara, who is always dealing with always moving and her confusing mom. She wants Tara to be social, very social, always pushing her to make friends. But her mom is also very protective, and even put a GPS tracking device in her phone. When Tara did something really stupid to try to get some girls at her new school to like her, she ended up being sent to Willow Falls, the town that they never vistit even though that's where most of her family lives. Of couse this was a big punishment when she will be missing the trip to Madagascar by going to Willow Fall. I think this was an unfair punishment because Tara was only trying to make her mom happy.

When Tara got busted for trying to steal the Principals favorite stuffed goat, she not only got in a lot of trouble with her parents, but she got suspended from school. For 2 weeks, which were the last 2 weeks of school. I think her punishment shouldn't be missing a trip like that, especially since the family had been planning for awhile, that everyone was excited for. But maybe Tara's mom doesn't realizing how the pressure to be social is some of the reason she isn't social.

All in all I like this book, and I want to see how her summer turns out. Probably reconnecting with her family and realizing it isn't so bad out in Willow Falls.

That's Too Salty! How the Tongue Knows

For my non - fiction response of the month I read a scientific article called, "That's Too Salty! How the Tongue Knows," by Tanya Lewis. It's about how we taste foods through the pores in our tongue. Especially the salty, bitter and sour. I like this article because it explained how the tongue is more effected by bitter tasting foods, than sweeter.

I learned that there are 5 main tastes/ flavors of food that are classified. There are sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami. Umami is pretty much the taste of acid, like in tomatoes but aparently also has a meaty tatse. It sounds unfamiliar but I think everyone's probably tried it. I've learned about the 5 sensations of the tongue before but I don't remember the umami one.

Because they're similar in flavor, salty, sour and bitter tastes all trigger the same mechanism on the tongue. Sodium is the main cause, and salt is good for us. It has iron which people need, but it becomes a problem when people eat to  much sodium. I think that this article brought attention to the fact that the tongue is really important in being able to taste. I know from memory that its the same fact for smell, if you plug your nose when you eat, you won't be able to taste. I liked this article and all the facts I learned about tasting and the main ones. Also how the sodium in 3 out of the 5 are making them similar tastes to us.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I finished "The Phantom Tollbooth," by Norton Juster, a while ago, but I've read this book 3 times. I have always really loved it. It's about a boy named Milo who thinks that life is boring and there is never anything to do. Until one day a magical tollbooth shows up in his room, and being to bored to care, he drive through in his toy car and ends up in a whole new world. The character of Milo changes through the book because he realized life is not boring, it's just an adventure.

When he first gets to the new world called Expectations, he is still skeptical of where he actually could be going. And throughout the story he gains the friends of a dog/ clock named Tock, who ironically makes a tick sound. His goal in the story is to rescue the Princesses Rhyme and Reason, who made that world nice and equal. But they are locked up in a tower and he must save them. By the end even Milo wishes he could go back to that world, he knows that his life can be exciting anywhere.

I always liked how the book was full of metaphors. Like Milo was first greeted by "The Whether Man" who can tell if something is whether this or that. Instead of a "Weather man" who will talk about meteorology. I didn't really notice that until the second time I read the book when I was older, but I think it's smart that the author did that. It makes the reader think about it as they are reading the book.

All in all I really recommend this book to anyone who likes an adventure story. Milo can be a really relatable character for anyone who has felt bored out of their mind and wishes for something, just anything that they could do. I think the moral of the story is to enjoy life and appreciated it. And I love who Norton Juster shows that to the reader.

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

I just finished reading "The Lonely Hearts Club," by Elizabeth Eulberg. It's about 15 year old Penny Lane Bloom, named after a Beatles song and a daughter of long time Beatles fans. Penny has had a long time struggle with boys, and after being hurt for another time by one, she decides to make the Lonely Hearts Club. She was sick of being hurt directly by guys, but also being hurt by her "friends" that would ditch her for a guy. The problem was resolved in the end because of the club bringing together her true friends.

The club brought together her old and new friends. In the process of swearing off boys for the rest of her High School existence, she got her old friend Diane back. Diane was actually the girl who dumped her for a guy, but soon they realized that all the memories they had could not be forgotten. Dine knew she made a mistake back then and fixed it throughout the story. She turned into the popular head cheerleader, to the girl she wanted to be, all thanks to the inspiration of Penny. I really was hopin gthis was going to happen for them because I could tell that Diane was an important character. The author brought her up in the story very early on and kept mentioning her like she was going to return to the story soon.

Penny's club inspired many people throughout the book and she realized that all she actually wanted was true friends who supported her. And that not all guys were jerks. By the end of the book the rules of the club changed "never dating in High School," to "always knowing who your friends are, and never leaving them for a guy." I was really happy for this change because Penny always had a constant fear in the story of falling for a guy, and then breaking the club rules and leaving her friends. Which was the complete point of the club! I think two of Penny's best choices in the story were making the group, and standing up for herself against the guy Nate, who cheated on her, and was pretty much the main cause for the Lonely Hearts Club.

All in all I really loved this story and its moral of friendship, and always knowing who will be there for you.

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements 2

I'm still reading "Things Not Seen," by Andrew Clements. Bobby is still struggling with his own invisibility problem, but more have come. His parents got in a car crash, and he is fending for himself alone. Being afraid and not being able to actually get help is hard. Fortunately he has found a way to disguise himself in clothes to go out, or just go out naked - not being able to be seen. He is over coming challenges on his own now. By making a new friend and being courageous in a time of crisis.

At the library Bobby found Alicia a new friend, that is actually someone who can see see him. Metaphorically. Alicia is actually blind, and even though Bobby could have lied to her about being real, he didn't. He was brave enough to tell her the truth about him. Which I think is the most courageous part of the story so far. If it was me, I'd tell the truth too because I wouldn't know when she would find out. But after some speculation from Alicia it turned out she finally made Bobby smile for the first time in a long time.

It would be hard to for me to live on my own, and if I was in Bobby's place, I'd really need a friend like her. To cheer me up, and not judge. It must be hard for Alicia too, because she still doesn't fully know if he is just pulling one big joke on her. And the parents already are putting extra trust in Bobby, because he does have the upper hand.

All and all, I really want to see a stronger relationship form between Bobby and Alicia. And for the parents to come home and realize that if Bobby took care of himself in this condition alone, and was fine - they should trust him more. Because even though you can't see him he's not actually gone.

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

I have recently started, "Things Not Seen," by Andrew Clements. About Bobby, a boy raised from a philological dad, and literature expert mom. One day he wakes up, and all of the sudden he's invisible. And for once he needs to use his parents knowledge to help him figure out what's wrong with him.Though he wants to get back to normal, he also has issues with his mother and father. He needs to overcome the challenge of working with his mom and dad to help himself.

To Bobby, his mom is the professor, and he can never slack off. He doesn't really agree with his father either. His father relates everything to science, and doesn't really give Bobby many opportunities to prove himself to his father. The incident does bring Bobby and his dad together when they can talk about what might be happening to Bobby. I think during the time when Booby is invisible, him and his parents will get closer together.

All in all, I think Bobby needs to understand his parents better. But Bobby's parents have to have more trust in him. he has the power now, and i think his parents might be way more protective them they have to be with him. Obviously Bobby doesn't want to hurt his parents, so why would he?

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

SPOILERS
Over the summer I read "The Boyfriend List," by E. Lockhart. It's about a 15 year old girl named Ruby who has severely struggles with boy problems. But not only that, but she gets very serious panic attacks, and has to start seeing a therapist, Dr. Z. And that's when Ruby is told to make a list of boys that she has ever been more than friends with. She always tries to stay true to herself, but ends up getting confused most of the time. The list ended up to be 15 boys. Throughout the story you see Ruby's struggle with her friends, almost always about some boy, and of course, Ruby's struggle with herself.

Ruby tried to keep a handle on her life, but it always seemed harder for her. When ever there would be a rumor, like Ruby and Noel, or someone else, Ruby would have to rethink her plan of action. And she would always have a panic attack when someone went wrong in her life - which was a lot. That's why she needed the therapist in the first place. She realized panic attacks were all made in your head, and Ruby got to talk out anything she needed to with Dr. Z. Through the boyfriends like Jackson, to her flings like Cabbie. But I always had trouble seeing what Ruby would do next, she would always reference her house boat. Saying if she ever needed to, she could just float away. She liked to keep her opinions to herself, but it seemed like not until the worse possible moment she would let them slip.

In the begging of the book, the reader gets the impression that Ruby and her friends loyalty to each other will always stay constant. But I don't think the author ever intended to write the book that way. Ruby and her friends try to stick with each other through all the boy problems. But it get complicated when one of Ruby's friends start to date Ruby's ex, that she really like. And it gets even worse when someone gets a hold of the list and makes copies and puts them all over the school.The list was also up for interpretations, it was just a list of boys with numbers. Rankings? Soon Ruby got the wrong impression from everyone at her school of being a home wrecker, and lost her friends. I felt really sympathetic for Ruby then, because as the reader, I had seen her grow through out the book. And seeing her being crushed so easy after all this time, it was hard not to feel many things.

I really loved this book, even though the ending did disappoint me. I hoped for a big ending, at least a happy one. When all of her friends left her, it just seemed to end. I think the author made the end like this so the reader could really interpret for themselves what would happen next.

We Want You to Know: Kids Talk about Bullying

For my non -  fiction book of the month, I have currently been reading, "We Want You to Know: Kids Talk about Bullying", by Deborah Ellis. I have been reading this book for my picture book project, during December. One of the things I liked about this book was that each chapter had a different bullying tactics like "Not being Good Enough"and other excuses that bullies might use. I think this book was really important because it showed real life experiences, and showed examples of all kinds of bullying.

This book was mostly made out of first - hand bullying experiences. The author Deborah Ellis let everyone tell their story from ages 9 - 18. I really liked using this book for my project because I think it was really nice to find a book made out non fiction stories. Instead of a book of possible bullying scenarios and reasons why people might or could bully. Because these people were brave enough to tell their stories, and talk about how hard it was for someone to be hurting them. One girl, Emily, who had a cyber bullying experience was someone I based my picture book off. She was being bullied because someone had started a page that everyone wrote on about why the didn't like her. Though I added that in my story, my version is completely different. But she talked about her sisters experience with cyber bullying, and I liked how many of the kids who wrote in the book talked had their siblings bullying experience in the book too.

This book didn't only have real experiences from different kind of bullying, but in the beginning of each chapter (and new type of bullying/ stories) they explain the topic. Any thing from "Looking Different", and then stories of girls and boys being excluding form cliques and school because of how they my look and act. Most of the kids in the book were being bullied for reasons beyond them. It showed a lot about how many victims are innocent. There was stories about cyber bullying and several about kids with mental disorders being left out of many school activities or cliques be cause of how they looked and acted.

I really admire those people who were brave enough to go talk to an author to actually get their stories publish. To show everyone the real effects of bullying, and cyber bullying. The many examples of bullying, but definitely to show the true stories and real experiences of many.