Summer Assignment, Post 4

Out of all the books I choose to read Eleanor and Park because I've heard of it through bestsellers last year. I had it on my to read list for a while but never got the chance to read it.  I'm glad I chose this book to read because I found it a really good story and it was a really good read. I couldn't put it down. Many people had highly recommended it in bestsellers, so I thought I would give it a try as it was on the list. The story was really good and I enjoyed it because it wasn't your typically romance novel. Park and Eleanor were both the outcasts, Eleanor more the Park. In the beginning, Park was mean to Eleanor and teased her like the other kids did. This shows you that two different people can become the best of friends. It also sent me a message that you shouldn't judge people before you get to know them, because they could turn out to be your best friend. After reading the book I didn't see many personal connections between me and the story, but many people could make connections to this book, as it has many problems that people face today. One is bullying. Eleanor is bullied by kids on the bus, including Park. They made fun of her in the beginning because they didn't think she was 'cool' and didn't get to know her. After Park got to know her, he really liked her. 

I would recommend this book too people who like romance novels. It really isn't a typical romance novel. It shows that everyone can be friends no matter who you are, and what you have. 

Summer Assignment, Post 3

"She was reading his comics.  At first Park thought that he was imagining it. He kept getting this feeling that she was looking at him, but whenever he looked over at her, her face was down." This is a hook for chapter 8 because you want to know why she's reading his comics. Park and Eleanor still sit together on the bus, and every day park brings his comics. Most girls don't really read comics but as we know, Eleanor really isn't your typical girly girl. As a reader this is a hook to me because it made me want to read more and find out why she was reading Parks comics. Once Park realizes that Eleanor is reading the comics, he opens the page and stays on it just a little bit longer so she has time to read the whole page. Once I found out that Park was letting her read the comics, it made me wonder if he was going to bring her comics, or give her his comic so she could read them too. I really wanted to know if Eleanor got any comics, so I continued to read and Park would leave her comics on the seat of the bus. "The next morning, when Eleanor got on the bus, there was a stack of comics on her seat. She picked them up and sat down. He was already reading."

Summer Assignment Post 2

Eleanor is the awkward girl at school. She's also the new girl, and doesn't have many friends. As the new girl, Eleanor just wants to fit in. She wants feel normal for once. 

Park is the awkward guy in school. He sits on the bus and reads comic books. He only has a few friends. Park likes to be left alone to do his business. Park wants to be left alone. 

In school, everyone thinks that Eleanor is a freak. They don't talk to her, but sit and stare at her. Park and Eleanor sit together on the bus and everyday Park reads a comic book. After a few days he catches on to the fact the Eleanor is also reading his comic books everyday. 

A theme that is starting to be present in this book, is it doesn't kill to be kind. Eleanor just wants a friend and Park is starting to become a friend to her. He gave her a comic book and is trying to support her at school. 

The book is structure by point if view. There is chapters and some are all from Parks point of view. Some chapters are all from Eleanor's point of view. There are chapters with both of their point of view on the same situation, like when Park gave Eleanor the comic book. "Park: What if she did give it back? What was he supposed to say then? Thanks?" "Eleanor: When she got to their seat, he was looking out the window. She handed him the comic, and he took it."

Summer Assignment, Post 1

For my summer reading, I am reading Eleanor and Park. This book was recommended to me through Best Sellers, and I have been wanting to read it, so when I saw it on the Printz Award Winner list, I saw the perfect opportunity. As you can tell from the title, this book is probably about two people name Eleanor and Park, are you are totally right. Eleanor and Park are the two major main characters. As for the setting, all I currently know is that it takes place in Omaha, Nebraska in 1986. A lot of the story so far is on the school bus or at Eleanor's home and Parks home. 

It's Eleanor's first day at this new school and when she gets on the bus in the morning, she doesn't know where to sit. Everyone already has a seat with their friends and she's alone. "Then the girl spotted an empty seat just across from Park. Her face lit with relief, and she hurried toward it.. "You can't sit there," Tina said. "That's Mikayla's seat." When Eleanor finally sits down, a girl, Tina starts to call to her and calling her 'bozo.' Then tells her she can't sit there. When Tina kicks Eleanor out of the seat, Park let's Eleanor sit in his seat. Even though he's quiet irritated with the whole situation. This is the start of the conflict. They both seem to be loners and are forced to be together on the bus ride to and from school.

Author

The author of Maximum Ride is also the same author who wrote the Confessions series. You can defiantly tell that they are written by the same author. James Patterson is a very strong, well know author. He writes thriller/suspense novels. His writing style is very similar between the two. He likes a strong female main character. Patterson tries to pass on his passion for writing and reading in many ways. He has a website called ReadKiddoRead.com, and to his College Book Bucks scholarships and his regular donations of hundreds of thousands of books to schools here in the states and troops overseas, Patterson has passed on his passion of books and reading and supported those who do the same. ReadKiddoRead.com is a website designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians help the next generation get excited about reading by recommending books carefully chosen for their ability to make kids' love reading even more. (http://www.jamespatterson.com/about_biography.php)

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Maximum Ride

I started my new book, Maximum Ride and so far I really like it so far. You can defiantly tell that it is by the same author as The Confessions Series. James Patterson. He makes his main characters very serious and a strong leader. Tandy was a strong and the leader of her family. Max, the main character of this book, is strong and the leader of the group. They both take charge on the situation and handle it efficiently. This is the opening quote and it shows how Max is also very blunt and honest. "Welcome to my nightmare.
Do not put this book down. I'm dead serious - your life could depend on it. I'm risking everything by telling you - but you need to know." This website is a really cool interactive way to show to the book. It also has a Confessions tab, so check that out too!

Maximum Ride

I recently finished the confessions series that I was previously reading and I really liked them. Another book by the same author is the Maximum Ride series, so I decided to try it. I haven’t started reading it yet as I just got it yesterday, but I’ve heard that it’s a very good book. In best sellers, we had to give a book spotlight and talk about some books that we really like, and I heard from a few people that it is a very good book, so I’m excited to start it. The book is about 6 kids who are injected with avian DNA and are tested on in a lab. They escape and fly around the country trying to find their parents and make a life for themselves.

The Private School Murders

I recently finished Confessions The Private School Murders. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it, especially if you like mystery. The book ends with a little bit of a cliff hanger and it makes me think that there will be a third book. If there isn't it will just end and have no real ending. Throughout the book, you really see Tandy change as a character. In the first book she is very, emotionless and doesn’t seem to have feelings. In the second book, you really get to see who Tandy is as a person and character. “My eyes filled with tears. It was a feeling I was getting used to.” As for the girls who were being murdered, don’t worry it get solved. About 75-100 pages from the end something I didn’t expect, happened. Remember Tandy’s older brother? The one in jail for killing his girlfriend? Well you find out what happens to him and how the crime was committed. The way it happened I wasn’t expecting that. It was a very creative way and this part of the book was really well written. Overall I really enjoyed this book and really hope that they make a third book. I really like this website because it gives you a cool, interactive way to see the book, almost as though it’s a real case. http://jamespattersonya.com/series/confessions

Character Symbols

When I think of Tandy I think of a tiger or lion. A strong confident animal. Tandy is confident and sticks to her gut and always believes in herself. In the first book of the series shes confident and nobody can knock her down. She believes shes always right and is a strong willed character, just like a tiger or lion. But in the second book, everything seems to fall apart for her family. Tigers and lions have a weak spot for family, their cubs, and Tandy has a weak spot for her family. When her brother, Matthew, is on trial for murder, she kind of looses it and doesn't handle it well. But when it comes to solving the murders of private school girls, she has no issue with investigating, even when it almost gets her killed. Even though Tandy becomes 'soft' in the second book she can still hold her own and defend her self. When it comes to defending her family, she will do anything. When Tandy thinks of something that could clear Matt's name, she will do anything to make sure it does and the killer is taken down.

Update

Tandy's brother Matthew is in jail because everyone thinks that he murdered his girlfriend. Everyone thinks it was him because just like when his parents were murdered, no evidence of break in. When Tandy is investigating the murders of the girls from Private schools, she makes a break through that could potentially clear Matt's name and get him out of jail. "I have evidence of a murder. Put Caputo on the phone." When Tandy finds what she was looking for, she makes a call to Caputo the police investigator on the case. She tells him to come to Matt's apartment because she has found evidence of how/who killed Tammar Gee, Matt's girlfriend. I think that Matt's name will be cleared as long as the evidence that Tandy found holds.

Krista Ramsey Column

For the third column we had to read by Krista Ramsey, I read See the hit, save the brain game plan at cautious UC. This was about football players and how concussions can affect their brain. This column also focuses on UC's concussions prevention program and how they are helping drop rates of concussions in football players. 

"As they smack flashing buttons, the Bearcats are improving eye-hand coordination, timing, anticipation, depth perception and peripheral vision. It's fun. It's also potentially brain-saving." I think that this line is best written because it gives you a snapshot of what they are doing to prevent concussions. You can get an good idea of what is happening in the program. This line impacts the reader because at the end it says its "potentially brain-saving" and the brain is worth saving. It makes me think that they are saving someones life, which they could be. This line contains elevated diction because you don't hear these words in an everyday conversation. There are various sentences lengths in this quote. There are long sentences, but there are also 2 words in some. 

Ramesy's writing style is very attentions captivating. She uses words to keep you on your toes and keeps you reading (elevated diction). I finder very interesting to read and I thought it was hard to pick a column to use for this! "But before parents claw back the iPhones, experts say the problem may not lie in the technology itself, but the amount of time spent on it, the environment in which its used and the activities its replacing." (For better vision, kids need time outdoors), "Throw-back as it seems, some of us find it oddly reassuring when other people put some thought into what they wear to a special event," (Super Bowl QBs score points of great style), "Sparing them blindsides means saving their brains. It could also mean saving their sport." (See the hit, save the brain game plan at cautious UC). All of these quotes show Ramseys unique writing style. They all have words that you wouldn't normally use. Like in the first quote she uses the word "claws" instead of "take away" or other similar words. It made it more interesting to read instead of a boring word there. 

The questions I would ask Ramsey if I had the chance are.. Do you get to write about anything you want or are you told to focus on one thing each week. I.e. sports, technology etc. How do you always make your writing interesting to keep the readers attention? Did you always want to work in this field or were you interested in something else during high school?

See the hit, save the brain game plan at cautious UC

Charcter Change

Tandy Angel is the main charcter. Im the first book shes smart, witty, and likes to think shes always right.. kind of like me. When I first started to read these, I saw a lot of my self in Tandy actually, but as the book continues, shes starts to change. After she discovers her parents have her take pills to make her perfect, she starts to change who she is and realizes that the Tandy she used to be, wasnt the real Tandy. She starts to actually shwo some emotion  which comes as a surprise to the rest of her family. when her brother is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Tandy takes it hard. She wants to believe that he didnt do it, but all the evidence points to him and she starts to break down. Shes also trying to figure out who is murdering girls from private schools. I think that Tandy will benfit from it and will become a stronger character and person. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naMsKjTjXKg This video gives a good summary to the book so check it out!

Recommend

I am currently read The Confessions The Private School Murders still, and really enjoy it. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery and suspense. This book is the second one. The first one is The Confessions of a Murder Suspect and it was really good. It was about how the Angel parents were found dead, but no break in, so the only suspects are the kids. No one is confessing. Tandy Angel takes matters in to her own hands and starts to investigate. She questions her siblings and other people in the apartment complex. In the second book, after her parents died, they left their kids with nothing. Their uncle, who hates them, finds someone else to take custody of them. He brings in an ex marine to protect the kids and he is defiantly different than their parents. "There will be house rules. Not too many, but they all must be obeyed." When I read this I think of a tall, muscular guy standing in front of the 3 kids with arms crossed. I normally don't read anything but fiction and fantasy and these books are mystery's and I really like them and would highly recommend them. If you have read books by James Patterson you would also enjoy these books, because he wrote them. I think he does a good job of keeping the suspense and making it interesting to read and hard to put down.

Setting

The setting of the books takes place in New York. The Angel kids live in a nice set of up scale apartments called The Dakota in New York City. I think that the setting plays a big part in The Confessions, The Private School Murders because it's a book about crime and mystery and when I think of books about crime and murder I think about New York City. A lot of crime shoes are set in New York so I automatically think of crime scene shows and crime books when I think of New York. I haven't been to New York so I can't give a good comparison between what it really looks like and the authors descriptions, but from what he describes I can picture what he is saying very well. The Angels have a weird style for their home and I think that the author gives us a good description of what their apartment looks like. "Hugo in the Pork Chair-a pink chair with hooves for feet that he loved." You wouldn't expect to walk into a high class families living room and see a chair that is a pig. Overall I think the setting is very good.

Why I read this book

In second trimester I was in Best Sellers. If you don’t know what best sellers is, it’s a class where you read books and talk about different things that are happening with books, like if book stores will disappear due to ereader’s and kindles. In Best Sellers we read 3 books and for my third book I read a book called Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson. It’s a mystery about who killed the Angels parents. One morning they turn up dead and no one has broken into their apartment so one of 4 people in the apartment killed them. The book really isn’t so much about the murder but all the secrets that they all really have. I chose this book because I love murder mysteries and finding out who was behind it all. I really liked that book and there was a second one in the series so I started reading that. It’s about the aftermath and now Tandy’s (the main character) older brother, Matt, is accused of murdering his girlfriend and unborn child. I really like these books because they aren’t your typical mystery. I chose to read the second book because I really enjoyed the first book and wanted to continue reading because there is a little bit of a cliff hanger. You don’t really know what is going to happen to Matt and I liked the suspense of the book. This is a really nice link to find out more about the book if you’re interested. http://jamespattersonya.com/series/confessions

Reading List

Some books I would like to read after Best Sellers is over is, Room by Emma Donoghue Unwind by Neil Shusterman 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks And then there were none by Agatha Christie Artemis Foul by Eoin Colfer Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs The curious incident of the in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Prezi Book talk

Confessions of a Murder Suspect book 3 review

"I have some really bad secrets to share with someone, and it might as well be you-a stranger, a reader of books, but most of all, a person who cant hurt me. So here goes nothing, or maybe everything. I'm not sure I can even tell the difference anymore." [excerpt from first page.] What secrets do you have to confess? The angel kids have to confess their secrets to find out who killed their parents. They were found dead in their bed but no evidence of break in. That means the one of the kids killed them, right? Was it the spiteful older brother, what about the one who wasn’t loved as much? The one who was in trouble last, who’s also the smartest? Or the youngest who is strong, and angry? It’s a twisting road keeping you turning each page with anticipation, who did it?

The Confessions of a Murder Suspect takes place in Manhattan, New York.  On morning Tandy Angel wakes up to a knocking on the door and opens it to a detective and cop she’s confused.  As they barge their way into the apartment like all “bad cops” and they tell Tandy that her parents are dead. “I had no idea that my parents were dead and that we would be the only serious suspects in a double homicide. I was in my last moment of innocence.” Because of no one broke in, the only people in the apartment are the suspects. Tandy knows she was last to see her parents and she can trust no one. Not even herself . This isn’t really about murder, but really about how actions can affect other people. When the parents died, they left their kids with nothing; they had no money, nothing. Tandy is telling the story and she has a way with words, she pulls the reader in keeping you flipping page after page. “But who am I kidding? No one in the Angel family was ever innocent.”  Tandy always has a hint of regret in her voice but why? Especially in her confessions, it’s pretty obvious. What does she regret though?

The Angel family is pretty cold. In their house hangs a picture frame with a note from their grandma reading, “I am leaving Malcolm and Maud $100, because I feel that is all they deserve.”  Imagine if your parents left you $100 after they had passed away, cold right? Malcolm and Maud never told their kids that they loved them either. Harry, Tandy’s twin feels this the most. He isn’t as smart as Tandy or as strong as Huge (the youngest). Harry is more musical and artsy but his parent’s don’t think that’s important. What if your parents didn’t tell you that they loved you or were proud, pretty sad? I think so.

The dialogue is very strong in this book and makes it all the more better. James Patterson is very good at making it a page turner and something new each time. After a couple chapters, Tandy would have a “confession.” She would tell us something that was important to the story and wouldn’t tell you everything leaving you with questions forcing you to read on.  The way the story is told is from Tandy’s point of view but I really like the way she tells it. She tells the story as if you were a friend or someone actually in the story. “Can you imagine the words you’d use, dear reader, to tell your family that your parents had been murdered?” Check out this cool link about the Confessions series.

This book is defiantly an A. It’s well written and a fast read, which I like. It always has you guessing what is going to happen or what door will be opened next. Who doesn’t love a good mystery? James Patterson is a well-known author and this genre made him famous, so of course he’s a good mystery writer. But this really isn’t your regular murder mystery, like the maid did it or the butler did it. It is different. Overall , it’s a good read and I highly recommend it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Post 9 Characters

In my book, the Confessions of a Murder Suspect, The Angel Parents are found dead in their room with no evidence of break in so who did it? The only people in the house at the time were the 4 kids and their nanny, Samantha. Tandy tells you the story from her point of view and what happened. I think that she is a likable character because she isn’t always sweet and caring and good like you think a protagonist would be. She is a suspect of her own parents murder, but is still trying to live her everyday life. I think that just because the book has a likable character doesn’t mean that its an easy book, or an easy read. There’s a lot of things that wouldn’t be very clear to you, until the end of the book or until Tandy gives you a confession. Some things still aren’t clear to me and hopefully they will be explained further in the second book. Tandy is a likable protagonist but is also the antagonist because maybe she did kill her parents. As a reader who liked Tandy I hoped that she didn’t kill her parents because I liked her as the protagonist, but if she did, I think the story would be just as good either way. Weather you think that likable characters makes for a boring and easy book or if you don’t mind, I really enjoyed this book and thought that Tandy was a good character and made the book interesting.

Post 7 The Book Thief Video

 

Blog Post 8 Should a memoir be true?

In my mind, I think that a book should be 100% percent true to be a memoir. If they say it’s all true shouldn't it really be true? How can we trust that other 95% or 90% of the book is true when they are lying about parts of it? Like Frey said that he wasn’t involved in the killing of the girl with the train but it still affected him. So the difference between lying and the truth could be life or death. I don’t think that half-truths are okay eve if it is a good story, if its considered a memoir I want full truth, if I wanted to read a fiction book, I would have gone to the fiction section at the store. If one author thinks that they can bend the truth other will continue to do it and then books will all become fiction because people will bend the truth just get the book published. After Frey was turned away, he came back saying it was a true story to get the book to be published and sold. I think that we do need lines between genres. When I go to a book store I go to the fiction section because I like fiction and that’s what I continue to read and enjoy. I think that books should be labeled fiction and non-fiction because if you go to the store to buy a true story and its fiction, why isn’t it in that section? I think that it matters because everyone likes different types of books and if you enjoy true stories and are told this is a true story, but it’s not, you might feel ripped off.

Post 6: Redicide

I agree with Redicide because in school we read a lot of books that I find pointless. Last trimester I was in English 1a and we read Romeo and Juliet for a majority of the trimester and then our final was on argument writing. This didn’t make much sense to me. Even though the topic was on Romeo and Juliet I still didn’t like how we wasted most of our time reading and deciphering the story. I don’t think that genre fiction is less “worthy” than literary fiction because as new books come out, more and more of them fall under the category of genre fiction. I think that we should not reach literary fiction so exclusively. Honestly English and reading in school has ruined any book for me. I hate reading books that are assigned to us because then I know that I’m going to have to study it and remember important parts and take a test when all I really want to do it read the book for pleasure. I know we have to read at some point but I wish it was more enjoyable. More genre fiction should be added because kids are reading those books on their own, like The Hunger Games, almost everyone read these books, yet did our English teachers talk about them? Romeo and Juliet is the classic love story but its dated way past our time. I understand that they have to reach them and there are some important lessons but can’t we teach them a different way? I would be okay with swapping out the classics because the newer books are more genre fiction, like Twilight, The Hunger Games etc. I think that in an English class today we should read things like The Hunger Games and books that are extremely popular among the high school. I don’t think that reading Romeo and Juliet is preparing us for future jobs and life ahead of school. A friend of my dad’s asked me what I was doing in English and I told him Romeo and Juliet and he said that after we read it I will never use it again and I thought, why do I need to read it then? We should want kids to read books because 1. It boosts your IQ but it also is fun if you can’t find the right book. If I like a book imp sucked in like I’m actually in the book and I would read all day if I could but don’t get the chance to read often because not that many classes give you a chance to read.

Adapting The Book Thief

I think some challenges that a filmmaker would have in adapting The Book Thief is when death pulls you out of the story and helps explain some things to you. He pulls you out for a second just so you have a better understanding but in a movie it would be hard to show that because of the way the author has it happen. One scene that needs to be included is when Liesel finds the gravediggers hand book because that is what the story stems off of. Another scene that needs to be in the movie is when Liesel goes to her new family’s house, because if she hadn’t gone there, none of this would have happened. The 3^rd scene I think that should be included is when Liesel wets the bed and her dad helps her. They are changing the sheets when the book falls out and he picks it up and asks her if she wants to read it. This is important because now Liesel will know what the book is about.

One thing I wouldn’t include in the movie is when Liesel and her mom go to collect the people’s laundry. I think it would be okay to show it, just not in full detail. Another scene I would cut is when Rudy Steiner pretends to be Jesse Owens and runs around the street. This really isn’t that important to the story and what the story is really about.