Go Ask Alice - Entry 3

As the reader's workshop comes to a close, I can confidently say this book was my favorite. Although I did really enjoy Out Of My Mind, this one was without a doubt the best one I have read. The one thing I really enjoyed was how straight forward the book was. Since it was written previously as a diary, everything was written out word for word, meaning there were no deeper meanings to anything that what was written. Of course I like to challenge myself when I read, but this was a really good book to end on. The book ends with the author, still anonymous, being drugged yet again, and ending up in a hospital. She then gets transferred to a mental institution due to the amount of harm that she endured while under the influence of drugs. At the very end of the book, the publisher explains that the anonymous author died three weeks after her last entry of a possible drug overdose, which wouldn't been that hard to believe considering the author's entire diary was about drug use. In the epilogue, the publisher of the book wrote, "Was it an accidental overdose? A premeditated overdose? No one knows, and in some ways that question isn't important. What must be of concern is that she died, and that she was only one of thousands of drug deaths that year" (214). This part of the book really hit home, considering I know what it's like to know someone who has had a premeditated overdose. I understood what the family of the author must have felt, their thoughts, I could relate to everything. Aside from the very tragic ending, the book was an overall good read. I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone looking for something that is contemporary, but gives a different perspective on something that happens all around us.

Go Ask Alice - Entry 2

This book is much more than what I expected. I thought it was just be a bunch of boring journal entries, but it actually has a storyline and a really exciting plot. So the main character of the book is anonymous, for reasons of which I am not sure. The entries are entered inconsistently throughout the year, being everyday at some parts, then leaning towards only two or three a month. The author of the diary explains that one night she went to a party, and her drink was laced with LSD. Instantly, she was hooked on drugs. The rest of the book continues on to explain her stories of drug use, specifying exactly which drug she used and what the effects were. She becomes so invested with drugs that they begin to take over her life, causing her to have to move to San Francisco to get away from everything. Little does she know that doing that will not stop her from experiencing drugs. She just can't get away from it. She begins to realize that drugs are not the way to live your life, shortly after the sudden death of her grandmother and grandfather. I am very interested to see if she keeps her promise of staying clean or if she gives in and starts using again. This book is really relative to my life, considering the main character is about the same age as me and is already facing these extreme situations. As I said in my last post, I hoped that this book will be one that I would not be able to put down. My wish came true; this book is one that I really can not put down because it is that good.

Go Ask Alice - Entry 1

For my fifth and final book, I am going to read Go Ask Alice, a book many of my classmates have recommended. From what I have heard, this book deals with a very mature topic: drugs. It talks about the repercussions of using drugs, and about the harm they can do even within the first use. I haven't read any books by Beatrice Sparks before, so I am hoping this will open me up to a completely new author I can rely on for a good read. From looking inside the book, I noticed that it is organized as though it's a diary, with 'chapter's converted into entries labeled by dates. One of my close friends said that she barely put the book down, finishing it within the first two days of picking it up. Hopefully I will be able to do that considering I only have two days to read it! I really hope this book becomes one that I can recommend to other readers with confidence that it will be a quick, good read.

Out Of My Mind - Entry 3

Wow. That's really all I can say. This book completely changed my perspective on not just people with disabilities, but self-confidence. As I explained in my last post, Melody struggles with communication, causing people to judge her and treat her as though she isn't 'normal'. Right when I continued reading I learned that Melody was going through with her plan to participate in the quizzing tournament. To decide who would be on the team, she had to take a test, just as the rest of the students had to. Now, unlike the other students, Melody has an aid that helps her. Her classmates, being the ignorant fifth graders they are, began complaining that Melody would use her aid to cheat, which was unfair. Of course, Melody didn't let it get to her and even told her aid to leave to prove to the rest of her class she was just as good as them. Turns out she's actually better; she was the only person to get every single question right. She joined the team, and ultimately led them to nationals. Now, this is where the book got interesting, as if it wasn't intriguing enough already. Nationals were being held in Washington, D.C, meaning that Melody and her team needed to take a plane there. So, when Melody arrived at the airport, her and her family learned that the team had left without her, leaving on an earlier flight because the flight they were originally supposed to be on was cancelled due to severe weather. As most kids would, Melody got up. She began to second guess her decision to even be on the team, feeling as though they purposely left her behind in order to look like a 'normal' team. She was down, but got right back up and went to school to confront the entire team about the mishap. She learns that her so-called friend refused to call and notify Melody of the change of plans, after repeatedly being asked by the coach to do so. This isn't even the part that caused me to walk away from this book in shock and feeling changed. In the very beginning of the book, Melody got an assignment to write an autobiography. This book was what she handed into the teacher for the assignment. It was actually quite amazing to realize that the entire book was a circle. As Draper wrote the very first words of the book, "Words. I'm surrounded by thousands of words. Maybe millions" (1). Then again, Draper writes the exact same sentence, followed by the exact same paragraphs at the very end of the book, "Words. I'm surrounded by thousands of words. Maybe millions" (294). That just blew my mind. I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone. It's a quick read, one that will really change your perspective on life.

Out Of My Mind - Entry 2

Already being halfway through the book, I can honestly say this is unlike anything I have ever read. So far, we know that Melody is a girl who is physically impaired, but is smarter than most of her class combined and also possesses a photogenic memory. Although she struggles with not being able to communicate, she continues to stay optimistic, always looking at the brighter side of everything. Of course, as anyone can guess, she also faces those people who think she is a freak simply because she is different from them. This causes her to beat herself up for being the way she is, feeling as though there is no way any of this can get better. As Draper writes, "I believe in me. And my family does. And Mrs. V. It's the rest of the world I'm not so sure about" (174). This quote is from a section in the book directly after Melody has planned on participating in a quizzing tournament that the state is holding. She already aced the one in class, giving her an extra confidence boost. She studies and studies, but realizes that she is nothing like the other people who will be competing, which causes her to second guess her decision to show off her vast knowledge. I am curious to find out if she goes through with her original plan and participates. So far this book is one that I have honestly not been able to put down, and hopefully that will lead me to finish it within a very short time span.

Out Of My Mind - Entry 1

For my fourth book, I have decided to read Out Of My Mind, a book about a girl named Melody who has a photogenic memory, but is unable to communicate to the people around her. She struggles with her speech and controlling her movement, causing her to be in a wheelchair. From what I heard from the people who recommended the book to me, this is a very strong, emotional book that will leaving you looking at life through a new perspective. After being only a few pages in I am already completely invested in the book, aiming to finish it in only a few days. The overall theme of the story is one that I am not that familiar with, so I am very excited to read this in order to be introduced to a new type of book. Can't wait to start reading!

Of Mice and Men - Entry 3

Considering I have only four more days and two more books to read, I have a lot of work to do over the course of this week. I finally finished Of Mice and Men, which looking back had a lot of reoccurring symbols present. One of the most prominent ones being loneliness. Throughout the story, all of the main characters mention, even in the slightest bit, that they sometimes feel alone and in need of the love of a friend. For example, Curley's wife admits that she is unhappily married, having to deal with Curley's mean and aggressive tendencies. He has become very possessive of his wife, leading him to fight men for simply looking at his wife. For me, the most shocking point in the book was when Lennie accidentally killed Curley's wife, and as you can tell from how I described his personality earlier, he was not too pleased by that. All throughout the book, Lennie was the one always getting yelled at, always being told he's too much to deal with, always being told life would be so much easier without him. I think he was just as shocked as Curley was when he learned he had the capability to do such an extreme thing. Overall, a very good book, although it can get confusing at times. I would definitely recommend if you're looking for a quick read with a lot of depth.

Of Mice and Men - Entry 2

So far, the book is not at all what I expected. First of all, it is very hard to understand what the characters are saying because the way they talk is in some type of jargon I am simply just not familiar with. It seems almost southern, but the book takes place in California, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. For the most part, the characters are pretty likable, except for one: George. He just seems like such a mean person to be around. I would not be able to be Lennie and have to deal with traveling with him all day long. Considering that the language used in the book is not one I am particularly familiar with, it is hard for me to follow what is going on in the story. I have to keep going back and re-reading sections because I feel as though I missed something in-between events. As far as Steinbeck's writing goes, it seems pretty similar from the other piece of his I read last year, The Pearl. In that novella, he focused a lot on imagery and aiding the reading in properly visualizing what he envisioned in his mind when writing the story. In Of Mice and Men, he doesn't seem to be so focused on the imagery. Overall, I enjoy reading this book so far. Hopefully that will continue as I finish this one out and start on my next one.

Of Mice and Men - Entry 1

For my classic, I have decided to read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, an author I enjoy very much. Last year, we read his novella The Pearl. I remember how much the structure of his stories surprised me.The way the story flowed, and the connection and references it made really made it a reading I would never forget. The way The Pearl used figurative language and imagery to create scenes that were breathtaking, even if they were all in my head, was so powerful that it made my truly feel as though I was experiencing the story along with the characters. Of Mice and Men was a book my friend read last year and highly recommended I read it. After doing some research, I understand that the book is a story of two migrant ranch workers, who travel all throughout California in search for a job during the Great Depression. Considering this book is in the short side, I am hoping to be able to finish it within a couple days, hopefully by Friday. I am hoping that this book will enlighten me on the struggles and normal life of those who lived during the Great Depression. 

Blink - Entry 3

For once, I can honestly say I loved this book. I'm not really that much of an enthusiastic reader, but this book was so different than anything I have ever read before. Not just the theme of the book, consisting of a topic I am very interested in, but the overall message blended in to the stories didn't come clean until the end, which is what I liked the most. Gladwell uses very distinct tools in order show how the book is classified as non-fiction. First of all, the book is full of research and experiments done in order to support his ideas of why the brain works the way it does. He also references multiple prestigious organizations, professors, and scientists, such as Yale University's Child Study Center, the University of Missouri's top criminologist David Klinger, and Ap Dijksterhuis, a psychologist from the University of Amsterdam.  By reading this book, I have opened myself up to a whole new world. The topics brought up and discussed were ones that I had never really thought about until now. Everything I thought I knew I am now questioning, realizing that everything is so much more than what it seems. At the end of the book, Gladwell writes, "Once we know about how the mind works - and about the strengths and weaknesses of human judgement - it is our responsibility to act" (276). This book has taught me so many things, and has opened my eyes to a whole new perspective. I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone, interested in neuroscience and psychology or not, this book is worth a read.

Blink - Entry 2

Halfway through Blink, I am really enjoying reading this book. First of all, the way the book is written it unlike anything I have ever read before. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, writes in chapters, and then within those chapters he has different subtopics he explains more in depth. Along with the structure of the book, the studies and experiments mentioned throughout the book really grab the readers attention, forcing them to keep reading. For example, there was a very interesting study done to explain the effect of rushes of adrenaline. The study followed two police officers, dealing with an armed assailant. He was threatening to shoot, so when the assailant pulled the gun, the police officer reacted as any would, firing back. He explains that in that moment of pulling out the gun, aiming, and firing, time slowed down. As David Klinger recorded during an interview, "I saw four of my five rounds hit. The first one hit him on his left eyebrow. It opened up a hole and the guy's head snapped back" (222). Gladwell then questions how is it possible that the police officer was able to spot exactly where and when each of the bullets hit the target. He goes on to explain that when we are put in life-threatening situations, our brain limits the amount of information it receives. By 'slowing' down what we see, we give our brain enough time to process what is happening in order to figure out what to do next. This book just takes things that people tend to overlook and delves into not only what causes it, but why. Why does our brain work the way it does? Why is it so amazing? These are the type of questions I hope the book will answer by the time I finish reading it.

Blink - Entry 1

For my second book,  I have chosen to read Blink, a very interesting book written by Malcolm Gladwell. From what I have heard, this book is one that will be hard to put down. One of my fellow gifted friends, also currently reading a Malcolm Gladwell book, explained the premise of the book and I was instantly hooked. This book focused on psychology, a field I am very interested in. This book entails a series of studies and experiments done to monitor the unconscious thinking of the human. It goes through the mental process of one when making a decision, along with finding relationships between the oddest things. For example, my friend explained one of the experiments where the people being studied walked down a hall and read a few words. Then the speed at which they walked back down the hallway, thus creating a link between recent readings and movement. For me, this is a genre that is very unfamiliar to me, considering I have never really been interested by psychology until this year. I hope that this book will show me that there is so much more to psychology than what is on the surface.

Thirteen Reasons Why - Entry 3

After finally finishing the book, I can say that I truly did not expect the book to end the way it did. As we close in on the last couple of tapes, we learn that Clay isn't on the tapes for bad reasons, as everyone else is. He is on the tapes because Hannah feels as though she never got the chance to finish their story, showing that they clearly had some time of relationship prior to Hannah's death. As Asher writes, "You don't belong in the same way as the others. It's like that song: One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong.
And that's you, Clay. But you need to be here if I'm going to tell my story. To tell it more completely" (200). 
The above quote is from one of the tapes Hannah sent to Clay, explaining why he received the tapes. It turns out that although everyone else got the tapes because they were mean or did something bad to Hannah, Clay got the tapes because Hannah needed to tell him something about the night they kissed at the party, but couldn't do it in person. She wanted him to know how she felt about their kiss, since they somehow never got the chance to talk about it after the fact. The book ends with Clay reflecting on all the secrets he now knows about the other twelve people, and reasons, that caused Hannah to commit suicide. He struggles to go to school, fearing if he sees on of them he will lash out, and then not be able to explain himself since only a select few received the tapes. Although the book was pretty good read, I didn't exactly love the book. First of all, some of the reasons behind why certain people were on the tapes didn't seem like such a big deal. Now, I don't know Hannah and I don't know what previous experiences she has had, but she never really explained a life-changing experience that could lead her to end her life. For example, one of the popular kids at her school released a 'Hot or Not List'. Hannah ended up being on the 'Hot' list. Now, this caused Hannah to be treated differently. Guys tended to disrespect her and treat her as if she wasn't actually a human, which lead to girls judging her. Of course, this would probably be a very tough situation, but in my opinion, it doesn't seem like a reason that would lead someone to end their life. Overall, Thirteen Reasons Why was an average book, not amazing, but wasn't worthy of quitting.

Thirteen Reasons Why - Entry 2

After reading about half of the book, I can barely put it down. So far, we meet a student named Clay Jensen, who one day coming home from school notices a box sitting on his door step. As most curious high schoolers would, he opens the box to see what is inside. Little does he know that this could be the biggest mistake of his life. Inside he finds seven audiotapes. Confused as to who sent him these, and why they were audiotapes. No one had used audiotapes in years! Of course, he begins listening to them and soon realizes that the voice behind the tapes is that of Hannah Baker, a girl that committed suicide a couple weeks earlier. As he continues to listen to the tapes he learns that each side of the tape represents one of the thirteen reasons why she killer herself. Now why does Clay, of all people, get these tapes? He wasn't exactly friends with Hannah, but he wasn't mean to her either. They were just two people that went to the same school, so what's the deal? Well, it turns out that each person who receives the tapes is part of why she killed herself. Shocked to learn this information, Clay begins listening to the tapes, becoming obsessed with figuring out why he received them. The way the author differentiates between the audio Clay is hearing and his thoughts is very unique.  Jay Asher, writes from the perspective of Clay, but also includes every single thing he hears from listening to the tapes. As Asher writes,
"He said my name, and when I looked in to his eyes the joking was gone. 
I yanked my arm, but his grip was tight.
Across the street, the neon sign of Restless Video flickers erratically" (50).
The way the author changes from italics to regular shows the difference between the audio of the tapes, what Hannah is saying, and everything going through Clay's head as he hears her story. We have still yet to find out why Clay has received these tapes. There is a mystery behind everything, but I am not sure how the author is going to finish off the book with a bang.

Thirteen Reasons Why - Entry 1

Reading is a way to escape all the noise and bustle of life. So, when reading, it is important to choose a book that will interest you and keep you turning the pages until there aren't any left. The book I am planning on reading it titled Thirteen Reasons Why, a very sad, very strange book. The author of this book, Jay Asher, is a relatively new author, having only two books published so far. Thirteen Reasons Why is his first novel ever published. For being his first novel, it must be a pretty good read considering one of my very trusted friends recommend I read it. When my friend explained the premise of book I instantly knew this would be a must-read. From reading only the back cover, I know that the story is about a boy named Clay. One day, he arrives home from school to find a box addressed to him. Upon opening the book, he realizes that the contents is made up of old tapes, those of which have Hannah's voice recording on them. Now, most of you are probably wondering what's so great about a bunch of tapes, it's not like we use those anymore. Well here's the catch: Hannah, the girl on the tapes, committed suicide a couple days earlier. The real question is not how they got there, but why he got them. The tapes hold the answer to that question, each tape being one of the thirteen reasons she decided to end her life. I cannot wait to start reading and figure out why Clay, of all people, received these tapes.