NOAH'S BLOG POST

Noah Lawrence

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

 Finished Chapter 10

Just Right

1.        Currently I am at the part where Tim Johnson a rabid dog is shot dead for the safety of the town of Maycomb. Earlier in this chapter Scout and Jem, the main characters, thought that their dad Atticus was boring. The other dads did hard work such as carpentry and farming. were as Atticus used his brain as a lawyer in an office. Atticus did not take part in football games because he said he was too old. The children were amazed when Atticus made an amazing shot to kill the dog. Heck Tate, the sheriff asked Atticus to shoot that dog because Heck did not have a good shot. It turns out that Atticus is a sharpshooter and his nickname was Ole One Shot. Atticus hadn’t shot a gun in thirty years but sniped that dog with accuracy and without his glasses. It only took him a few seconds to line up the shot. It was a one shot kill. If Atticus had missed, the bullet would have went into the Radley house.  Scout wants to brag about this at school but Jem says not to. This shows that Jem is growing up. Also, while Jem is using his gun, Atticus says it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds are innocent because they do not harm anyone or property, they just sing beautiful songs. It is in this chapter that we learn about the title of the book and its meaning.

2.       I think the book is very interesting because of all the hidden meanings. This book has lots of detail and a fast paced plot.  The idea of the mockingbird being innocent as well as some of the characters is interesting. Another hidden meaning is Atticus’ character.  You really need to read carefully and dig deep to understand this.  This book has a great plot so far and the characters are well developed.  For example, the reader sees Jem grow and mature in a normal way.  The author makes him seem very real. The plot is fast paced and the action starts in the third chapter, but since then it has been non-stop action.  I am yet to discover the rest of the plot, but I think it will be good.

3.       Innocence is a recurrent theme throughout the book.  It can be viewed in many characters. Boo Radley is innocent because he does not do harm to any of the kids, but tries to befriend them by putting a blanket around Scout’s shoulders, patching Jem’s pants, and giving them presents.  Another innocent character is Scout because she is young and does not understand important adult issues such as racism and maturity.  She is innocent in her approach to solve problems.  She will fight with others to defend the people she loves.

4.       My favorite character is Atticus.  Atticus is a cool dad.  The kids call him by his first name and he treats them as if they were adults. It also seems as if the town is dependent on him.  They come to him to help solve problems and this is a good trait.  I like that he is not racist and is willing to fight through the courts for what he believes in.  

5.       My least favorite character is Nate Radley.  It seems that he is mean to the kids and that he keeps Boo Radley locked up in the house. He also fills the knot hole with cement which disappoints the children.  Another thing he does is fire off a shot with his shotgun to get the children away.  This seems like an over-reaction. He does not appear to be a friendly neighbor or good brother to Boo.  He doesn’t participate in the community and many people just believe the rumors about him.

6.       I predict that Atticus will go to court with Tom Robinson and he will do the best he can to defend Tom.  I think that Boo Radley will be released from his house and that we discover that he really is a nice person.  I also think that Nate will do something very bad in town that will get him arrested and away from Boo. I feel as though Jem will follow in his father’s footsteps and defend his father the way Atticus had taught him.

Abdell St. Paul
Fast Food Nation
Eric Schlosser
Non-Fiction
Just Right
133


1.I'm currently reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and i'm in the chapter that begins at the J.R. Simplot Plant in Aberdeen, Idaho. I'm on the part that describes J.R's life. J.R. Simplot was born in 1909 and grew up working on his family’s farm in Idaho. When he dropped out of school and left home at fifteen, he found work in a potato house. By age sixteen, he was a potato farmer. Soon, Simplot was buying, selling, and sorting potatoes eventually becoming the largest shipper of potatoes in the West. During World War II, Simplot made a fortune selling dried onions and potatoes to the American military. Following the war, Simplot invested in frozen food technology. In the 1950's he began selling frozen french fries to McDonald's. I think after reading this part most successful owners of the big fast food industries were drop outs in highschool and began working on small part time jobs.

2.I feel that the author put a lot of research into the book because Eric Schlosser explains in detail why the McDonald fries taste so good. I liked how Schlosser illustrates how the potato is manufactured and what contributes to its flavor. I liked how Eric Schlosser explained to the reader how they make the fast food, how fast food is important to modern American society, and what the food does to us. I liked how the author is concerned about the children in America and how fast food restaurants will make them obese. I liked that their was a lot of accurate historical info about fast food. I dislike the font in the book, it's small print. The plot is helping me form my opinion of this book because it's exposing the fast food industries. I have never read an author with such historical information before.

3.One of the themes that I noticed in this book is truth. I noticed this theme through out the parts I read. Eric Schlosser is trying to convince the reader the truth about fast food on how they make it, where they make it, and what it does to you. This theme is in the plot only because Eric Schlosser has facts that proves what fast food does to you. He exposed the truth of how the industries copied the Mcdonald techniqe to make their food taste better with more salt, fat, and sugar.

4.There are no fictional characters in this book but Walt Disney is my favorite character in this book because he didn't want to put Mcdonalds in Disney Land, he was rivals with Ray Kroc. This makes him my favorite because Disney Land was a place for kids to have fun and Walt didn't want Ray Kroc to promote Mcdonalds to the children that were in Disney Land because it's was unhealthy for the kids.

5.My least favorite character in the book is Ray Kroc because he's the reason why children are obese today. He created the fictional Ronald Mcdonald character that tricked children into eating fast food. He expanded Mcdonalds. He used a fictional character to promote Mcdonalds to children. He didn't like Walt Disney and Disney Land.

6.I predict that Eric Schlosser will later in the book explain how the meat in fast food is poisoning. I made this prediction off of the part when Eric Schlosser was talking about how the fast food industries find their products and what they do to the food to make it taste good. The part when Mcdonalds put stuff on their fries to make it taste delicious made me think of this prediction. The author is guiding me to this prediction by talking about what they put in meat in the industries. 

Jamie Wright

Jamie Wright
Hero
Mike Lupica
Holiday
p. 191

1. I am currently reading Hero by Mike Lupica. I am at the part where Zach just got out of the hospital after being knocked out by the giant. The first day Zach is back he is alone in the house watching movies, and he hears noises. He is scared at first but then he decides to investigate, so he goes upstairs to his room and his computer is open, and on the screen it says "Trust no one". This part was very heart racing and I found it hard to put the book down. Zach just found out that his Uncle John knew about his fathers secret life. Zach doesn't know who to trust or who to believe, especially with that writing on the computer. Zach aches for more information on his father's plane crash, so he is forced to question his mother to see what she knows about the topic. Zach does not get anymore information, but he is determined to look for more resources or clues that will help him find out what had happened to his dad's plane.

2. I feel that this book has great detail. Lupica is very good in describing the character's feelings and perspectives on subjects and events.  One example of how well he does describing the character's feelings is when he explained how Zach felt with Uncle John when they went out for a "knock-around day". Zach explained that it was "big bangin' fun". Another example of Lupica's great detail was when described the giant. He said that he was the tallest person that he'd ever seen outside of the NBA, and he was wearing a dark suit with a brim hat that pulled deep over his face. Those are a few examples of Lupica's great detail in this book.

3. The theme that occurs the most is good vs. evil. Zach does not know who to trust and he is tempted by both Uncle John and Mr. Herbert to pick a side. He does not have enough information to come to a conclusion at this point . Zach is the good in this situation and the evil is either Mr.Herbert, Uncle John, or just the temptation of picking one side or the other. He is also forced by Mr. Herbert to fight with people  for "training". Zach also has to look out for the "bads"(his father's enemies) that he will have to face later on in the book. This is why I feel the theme is  good vs. evil so far.

4. My favorite character is Zach because he is nice, powerful, and he protects the ones that he loves. One example of Zach being nice is when he went out and took the day off to have a "knock-around day" with his Uncle John. Zach was  powerful  and protective when he knocked out all of those guys near the track and saved Kate in the process. Zach also protected Uncle John against the giant. Those are the reasons why Zach is my favorite character.

5. My least favorite character is Uncle John because he is too judgmental to Mr.Herbert. He  also is very forceful  with Zach when he tells him to stop listening to Mr.Herbert. Whenever Uncle John starts to talk about Mr.Herbert, he gets angry and starts telling Zach how bad a person he is and how evil he is. He also says that they are enemies just because they disagree on certain things. He also gets really upset when they debate about  Zach's readiness to take on his father's enemies. Those are the reasons why Uncle John is my least favorite character.

6. I predict that Zach will run into Mr.Herbert again. I also think that Uncle John and Zach will have another talk about his powers. One reason why I think Zach will meet Mr.Herbert again is because they have already met a couple times and Zach is probably going to "train" with him some more. I think that Uncle John is going to talk to Zach about his powers and Mr.Herbert again because he is close to Zach and he seems worried about Zach getting mixed up and making some of the same mistakes as his father did trusting Mr. Herbert. Those are my predictions of what is going to happen later on in the book.

Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee
Winter White
Jen Calonita
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
Just Finished

1. The ending of the book was unexpected, just like in Belles. Both Mira and Izzie end up attending cotillion even though they were planning on not going after another fight erupts between them and their dad. They go to cotillion and Izzie is surprised when Brayden is called out as her escort even though they are fighting. Throughout the book, Brayden hasn't been standing up for Izzie when his mom verbally attacks her. In my mind Izzie's anger is justified but it's not all his fault. His older sister Dylan, a troubled teen has been meddling in their relationship and seems to set them up for failure all the time. At the dance though, when Izzie sees Brayden standing there and realizes he finally stood up to his mother as she wanted him to take family friend and Izzie's enemy Savannah, she forgives him for the most part. Mira on the other hand is faced with the tough thought of appearing at cotillion with an understory escort instead of Kellen, her crush and only friend at the moment. She accuses Kellen earlier in the book of selling a painting of hers to a newspaper to ruin the family's already tainted image. Kellen is really offended of her accusation even though she only said that because she was upset and confused. When it is revealed that Callista, her dad's campaign manager is the one who actually is leaking everything to the press, Mira does her best to apologize but it's not enough to get her former escort back. The night of cotillion someone tells Mira to go to room 14 where she finds Kellen waiting for her, and he agrees to be her escort. The last straw that finally makes Kellen forgive Mira is when she paints a picture and asks the barista at the coffee shop he frequents to hang the art up for him to see. He sees it and surprises her at cotillion where they have a great night. The book ends with a bang though as the family is preparing for Christmas and Kellen surprises Mira with the news that he might have to move to Detroit if his dad's work is relocated there. Both of them are very upset. As the family collects outside to turn on the Christmas lights that had been hung outside, a woman walks up to them, a woman who looks nearly identical to Izzie's mom. Izzie is stunned when the woman claims she is Izzie's aunt, which is where the book ends.

2. I really loved this book. I liked even more than Belles, which I loved as well. I couldn't put it down and it was full of surprises and plot twists. I think that one of the main reasons I loved this book was because of how understandable the character were. Even though all of the characters made mistakes, they pretty much always redeemed themselves. It shows that their hearts were in the right place when they made whatever mistake they made and tried to make up for it. With the exception of Callista who is a terrible person for trying to ruin Bill's career and destroy their family. Even though when she leaves she tells Mira that a magazine is interested in her modeling, she doesn't really show any remorse for doing what she did. Another reason I loved this book is because it always kept me guessing. I never expected what happened next which is something I really like in a book because a lot of books I read are really predictable.

3. I think a main theme of the book is forgiveness. Every single one of the characters in this book do something they regret, and they try to earn other people's forgiveness. Mira breaks Kellen's trust when she accuses him of selling her painting because money is tight in his house. Callista breaks the whole family's trust by selling their stories to tabloids to make them look bad. Even though the family doesn't forgive her, I think that if they gave her the chance, she might try to gain their forgiveness. Brayden is constantly trying to earn Izzie's forgiveness each time he messes up and doesn't stand up for her. In the end Izzie forgives him because she's a naturally forgiving person even when she probably shouldn't have. The biggest person trying to gain forgiveness is Mira and Izzie's dad. After all the scandals that the family is exposed to, he does his best to earn Mira and Izzie's forgiveness. It's not accepted right away and it actually takes longer than it should have but more things happen that cause the girl's to be less inclined to forgive him, like all of the rumors that are passed through the press.

4. My favorite character is probably Kellen. He's a great guy, and someone who I never would have pictured Izzie being with but I think that they're a really good pair. They're really different people but share a love of art which really inspires a great relationship. I don't really imagine them being a couple for too long as they're a little too different to get along well, but I like Kellen as a person. He is constantly forgiving Mira for judgmental things she says or does. It was also really sweet for him to surprise her with a rose and tux on the night of cotillion. He didn't have to forgive Mira for all the terrible things she says but he does, which makes me admire him a lot.

5. My least favorite character in this book was Callista. She was super sneaky but I only disliked her at the end. She pretended to be the girls' friend and confident when really she was taking all the things they said in confidence and used it against all of them. She ends up ruining Mira and Kellen's relationship and almost destroying Bill's career and relationship with his daughters. I think that what she did was really despicable. Everyone trusted her and she broke that trust and used it against them. I pretty much liked her for the whole book but when the girls figure out that it's been her I was really upset that someone would be that devious.

6. The ending was kind of random, at least the part where Izzie's aunt comes. It came out of nowhere and was completely unexpected. I wonder what kind of impact she's going to have in the third book, but I'm guessing it's going to be a big one. I didn't expect Kellen to have to move either, even though as I look back now clues were dropped a bunch of time. Kellen is acting odd previous to the announcement, and earlier in the books he talks about how his dad's work might have to move their family to Detroit. I hope he doesn't end up moving because I really like his character and him and Mira as a couple. I was expecting the both Mira and Izzie to get their boy's back, as they both really love each other, it's just they've had a lot to deal with. All in all this ending was a mix of expected and unexpected, similar to the ending of Belles.

Sophie Van Riet

Sophie Van Riet
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
68


1.  I have just started the book, The Summer I Turned Pretty.  Right now Belly, a teenage girl, is realizing that Jeremiah might like her. Jeremiah and Conrad are very good family friends with Belly.  Belly, her mom Laurel, and her brother Steven go down to the Fisher's beach house every summer. The Fisher family consists of Conrad, Jeremiah, their mom Susannah, and their father Mr.Fisher. Their father never really goes down to the beach house so it's just the teenagers and the two women.  Susannah and Laurel are best friends, so every summer all the kids and them meet at the beach house on Cousins Beach. Belly has always had a crush on Conrad, even though he's older. This summer, the dynamic of her and Conrad changes, and Conrad seems to show an interest in Belly. He starts paying more attention to her, and tries to be around her as much as possible. Belly is very happy about this, since she's liked him for as long as she can remember. While at the movies, Belly gets a feeling that Jeremiah likes her. She's flattered, but doesn't know what to think, he's always just been goofy Jeremiah.

2. I am really enjoying the book so far. I love the relationship between the two families. They are all so happy and caring to one another. I also like that it got started right away and didn't take a long time to get into the story.  I feel that the characters are well developed as well, even though the book just started. One thing that I dislike is that the author isn't very descriptive. She doesn't make you able to really envision what is happening, and I wish that she would.  Another thing that I dislike is that basically every other chapter is a flashback, so the book kind of drags on at some points. When I first started this book, I thought it was going to be very superficial, but I really don't think that it is at all.

3.  One theme in this book would be relationships and how easily they can change. The families have a very close relationship, and that sets the whole tone for he book.  You can see how fast a relationship can change. For example, Jeremiah and Belly were always just close friends. But ever since Belly became pretty, Jeremiah sees her in a different way. This also happens with Conrad. I don't really know how I feel about that. It seems kind of like a bad message, like just because Belly becomes pretty, now all the guys like her. I think that Belly will see through all this.

4.  My favorite character so far is Susannah. she's very wild and lives every day as if it's her last. a few years ago, she got breast cancer and had to go through chemotherapy. This was hard on her but she never let that stop her from being who she is. Also she is very loving to all of the kids. She treats Belly the way Belly wishes her mom would.  Susannah also is very nice for letting Belly and her family stay with them for the whole summer.  She even renovated the house just so there could be lots of room for everybody. I really admire who Susannah is.

5. My least favorite character is definitely Conrad. He's very bossy, and not very sensitive. he doesn't seem to think about how others are feeling. Also, he isn't particularly nice to Belly even though she's always trying to get his attention. I feel that Belly likes who he used to be and can't realize that they were just not meant to be together. I really don't like his attitude sometimes.  I also think he should be more open and less mysterious, because he has his mother worried he might be doing something bad.  I hope he starts to be more sensitive.

6. I predict that Conrad and Jeremiah are going to have a fight over Belly. They both like her now, and she's a little unsure what to think. She's always liked Conrad even though he never felt the same way, and all of a sudden he likes her back, and now Jeremiah might like her but she doesn't really particularly feel the same way. I predict that Belly is going to want to be with Conrad, and it will cause a huge fight between the two brothers. I really hope this will not happen, but that's what I think will.

noah's blog

Noah Lawrence

Ender’s game

Orson Scott Card

Si-fi

Holiday

Page 75

1.       Ender, the third child to be born in his family, is a young boy that is made fun of because he is the third child to be born and there is a limit on how many children a family can have. The limit a family can have is two children. One day Ender is made fun of by a group of boys. Ender kicks one of the boy in the chest and the boy falls. Ender the continues to beat him to teach him a lesson. Even though Ender is small he prevails in this battle. Ender is often beaten by his brother. Ender’s brother hates him and he says that one day he will murder ender and his little sister. Ender is offered to go to the military if he does this he will not be able to return in many years. Ender accepts this offer from Graff, a military officer. On the zero gravity space ship that is traveling towards the battle school, Ender is not quick to make many friends. First he breaks a kid’s arm trying to defend himself . Then Graff gives Ender some advise. Graff says  "There’s only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can’t ignore you."  The reader first experiences Ender’s intelligence during a game session.  Ender is so talented he beats the older boys at their own games.  In addition, the other boys have begun to follow Bernard, the boy with the broken arm.  Ender decides to win over his friends by sending a mean e-mail about Bernard to make him look bad. His plan works. In the game room Ender and his new friend Alia find out that the guns shoot light and it freezes their suits. Ender, Alia, Bernard, and Shen shoot everyone else. Alia becomes the group leader. Ender finds his abilty to solve various problems. He comes up with creative ideas and beats a level of a game. In the game he kills a giant and afterwards he feels bad. This shows that Ender may not be a good warrior and has a lot to overcome.

2. I feel that the author does a very good job writing this book. He explains the book with very descriptive details. This is showed when he describes the scene in the spaceship before he breaks Bernard’s arm. Also the author does a good job of keeping the reader on the edge of his or her seat like when he writes the scene about Ender beating up one of his bullies. Another thing that the author is excellent at, is telling the story. He does this by adding action packed scenes that are creative and easy to follow. He develops the characters in a way that makes them so interesting. The way he tells the story is like no other author I have read.

　

　

3. The theme of this book is courage. Ender shows courage by standing up to his bullies. He also shows courage when he has to fight his brother. Ender stands up to Bernard by using physical aggression. Don’t be mistaken by Enders size he will take you on. Another way Ender experiences courage is when he decides to leave his home at six years old. This must be very hard for him as his family is the only world he knows.  Although he is not overly attached to his parents, he is very close to his sister Valentine. 

4. My favorite character is Ender because he is a rebel. He is confident and courageous. Those traits inspire me to get out of my house and stand up. Ender is a great kid. If I had Ender as my younger brother I would be jealous of him. I love how Ender is very independent. He is close with his sister but not many other people like him. It must be a very lonely world for him.

5. My least favorite character is Peter. Peter is Ender’s brother. Peter tends to beat Ender. I think Peter hurts Ender is because he is jealous of Ender, or Peter just hates Ender for being a third. Peter threatened to kill valentine and Ender and that is not ok. Peter is an abusive spoiled brat. He is the worst big brother ever.

6. I predict that Ender will dominate the battle school winning all the games. Ender will become a general and he will lead his army into a great battle. I think this will happen because Ender shows signs of talent already. Also this is destined because the book would be boring without a giant battle scene. If Ender is just a soldier and not a general the book wouldn’t be as interesting. The thing that would be most interesting is if you could hear both sides of the battle. One side would be the general and the other would be the soldier.

Julia Medoff

Julia Medoff
Double
Jenny Valentine
Just Right
141

1. Chap, the boy who stole the life of Cassiel Roadnight, is slowly adjusting to his new life. When he arrived home from the hostel, his family greeted him with love and excitement. Chap, knowing nothing about Cassiel, did not know how to act around his family. He avoided any questions that could possibly lead the family in to thinking that this boy, was not their son. As the days went on, he slowly became more comfortable as Cassiel. Cassiel's older brother Frank, finally arrived home and was ecstatic to see him. Little did Chap know that before Cassiel went missing, Frank and Cassiel could not stand each other. Not knowing this previous tension, Chap decided to act as brotherly and normal as possible.  On some occasions, Edie, Cassiel's sister, who has the right to be curious, would ask Chap many questions about his disappearance. This hounding caused Chap anxiety because he did not know the answers to any of her questions. One day when Chap needed some air, he went walking in the woods, and came across one of his old school mates. This boy, Floyd, thought Cassiel was dead. Amazed to see him, Chap is hammered with questions. Floyd starts discusiing Cassiel's night of disappearance, which Chap knows little about. Floyd starts talking about some trouble Cassiel may have been in, he questions how being home with Frank has been, and he quickly spurts out information about the night of Cassiels disappearance. Chap, who is very confused, agrees to meet him later in town to have a more detailed conversation. When he arrives back home, he tells Edie about his confrontations with Floyd. Edie turns pale and Cassiel's mother, Helen, stops in her tracks. They both tell Chap to not go meet with Floyd, and that he is not a friend of his. Edie explains to Chap that Floyd made up a rumor that Cassiel truly was dead and was murdered by Frank. This sparks a new thought in Chap's mind that maybe Cassiel truly is dead. They instruct Chap to call Floyd and cancel there scheduled meeting, but while talking, he murmurs through the phone that he will try to make time to meet him another time. Chap, who was considering vanishing again, and removing himself from this tangled mess, knew he had to stay now and found out what Floyd has to say.

2. Recently, this book has been moving a tad slow. The majority of the book is made up of dialogue narrated by Chap. This has made it hard for me to really get to know the other characters in the book, and it is hard to predict exactly what they are thinking at points. The plot in the beginning and recently has been dull and boring. The author is definitely leading the readers up to a big moment, but I think she is holding off for too long, and making the readers unsure if anything even will happen. There have not been many twists or turns and little foreshadowing that could possibly cause a thought to arise that something may happen soon that could lead to a change in the book. While the characters have interesting traits,  they are not as developed as I think they could be. I am having trouble picking out a single theme that could encompass all that has happened so far in the book, because I have not read a story with such an irregular plot. By now, I would have thought more interesting events would have occurred. I think this book has a chance of improving and pulling the reader in.

3. The theme that I have noticed throughout the characters and plot line is temptation and destruction. This theme has been very prominent .  For example, when Chap decided to take Cassiel Roadnight's life, he did it because he was tempted. He had lived alone for so long, his only close friend had been his Grandad when he was younger. This was an opportunity for him to have a family and friends, a temptation that outweighed the risk. As he told the people at the hostel that he was Cassiel Roadnight, he entered a new life. He is leading this family on every day that their loved one is back, Cassiel is back. This is destruction, ruining the family. When and if the Roadnight family ever figures out the secret, they will be crushed. They will be hurt, and missing Cassiel, questioning if he will ever return. Chap is destroying the family and their lives.

4. My favorite character is Edie. She has been my favorite character since the beginning of the book, when she was first introduced. She has an honest personality, and the person who I feel has the best outlook on how "Cassiel" may be feeling since his arrival home. She has been considerate to Chap, and does not force answers out of him. From the minute Chap got to the home, he every so often has been bombarded with questions, which is understandable, but considering Chap's situation he does not have an answer to any of the questions. Edie understands that "Cassiel" may still be adjusting to his regular life, so she stays calm and does not demand any answers, no matter how eager she is to know. Edie is a very likable person, and Chap has taken a liking to her. He feels even though she has no idea who he is, they can have a normal "sibling" conversation. Since the narrator of the story is Chap, it is hard at times to really know what Edie may be thinking, but I am eager to continue reading and find out more about her character.

5. My least favorite character is Frank. Though he has just recently been introduced, he seems suspicious. As Edie drove Chap home from the hostel, she constantly talked to Chap about Frank, and eventually the reader found out that Cassiel and Frank do not get along well. The story has not yet revealed what happened between the brothers that could have caused tension, but I am interested in finding out. After Edie told Chap that Floyd sent a rumor streaming through the town that Frank killed Cassiel, I have doubts in his personality and background. Since Chap is not Cassiel Roadnight, this leads him to thinking that this mysterious rumor could possibly be true. After Cassiel's arrival home, Frank had been nice and kind, but I wonder if it is just an act. I am interesting in finding out more information about Frank, and discovering any secrets he may be holding. Overall, the book is leading me to think that not only could Frank have been involved in Cassiel's disappearance and possible death, but he could be a main suspect.

6. I predict that as the book continues, more information will be revealed about Cassiel's dissppaearnace that could lead to discovering that Frank is the killer. Since Chap is not Cassiel, and Floyd claims that he truly thought that Frank killed Cassiel, there are currently no leads about Cassiel and his possible death. This foreshadowing has given me many thoughts about who could have killed Cassiel and when. There has been little talk about this situation because it just recently came into the plot, so if this prediction is correct, then I assume the reader will not find out about it until much later on into the story. This outcome is critical in deciding Chap's future.

Winnie McCabe

Winnie McCabe
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
41

1) I am currently reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Right now in the story, it is October 28, 1991 and Charlie is writing about his experience Bob's party with Sam and Patrick. Charlie is a fifteen-year-old boy that is still trying to figure himself out. He has always been a wallflower. With his friend Michael committing suicide, it makes his high school experience a lot harder. Charlie is left with no friends at the start of high school. At a football game, he approaches a guy in his shop class named Patrick. Patrick is sitting with his stepsister, Sam, watching the game. Charlie makes an instant connection with Sam and Patrick. Later on, Charlie develops a crush on Sam. She tells him that he is too young for her. Charlie doesn't humiliate himself because Sam reacts in a joking manner. After a homecoming game, Sam and Patrick take Charlie to a party. They meet Bob at the door of his house and slide into the party. Charlie is offered a beer, but he rejects the offer. Then, Charlie eats brownies and becomes stoned.  Sam makes him a milkshake in the kitchen while he walks into another room to find Patrick kissing Brad, the quarterback of the football team.

2) I really like this book so far. I think this book has an interesting format, but I kind of like it. There are 4 parts to this book. Each part consists of many letters written by Charlie. I think it is awesome how the receiver of the letters is unknown. It gives the book a little bit of mystery and suspense. Chbosky is able to bring in so many different themes that are very relatable too. I find that I am similar to Charlie in so many ways, but I am different in so many ways too. I like being able to compare myself with characters and it is not always possible. Chbosky makes it so that everyone is able to relate to Charlie in the slightest way. This way, this book can appeal to a wide range of audiences. I feel like Charlie has a little bit of everyone's traits in him. His character is fun to read about and connect to. I have never read any books written by Stephen Chbosky before. I think I am going to read more when I finish this one.

3) Adolescence is a huge theme in this book. I see this theme all throughout Part 1 in this book. First, Charlie has to learn to deal with the challenges of loss. Most adolescents are faced with some kind of loss during their years as a teen. Charlie loses a close friend named Michael. High school is a big part of adolescence too. As a freshman, Charlie learns how high school works. He learns to make new friends that he would not usually talk to. Charlie is not the most popular kid in his school, but he is not forgotten. Another challenge that adolescents face is drugs and alcohol. I see this when Charlie is at the football game and Sam and Patrick are smoking. I also see this at Bob's party where Charlie was drugged and offered a beer. Luckily, Charlie refused to drink the beer, but he was unaware of the drugs that were put in the brownies he ate.

4) My favorite character is Sam. I like her the best because she is not afraid to be different. She likes different music and is not afraid to be herself. Sam is able to be popular in her own way while still being an outsider. She is really nice to Charlie and makes sure he is safe at Bob's party. I think she was really nice to take care of him and befriend him. Sam also seems like a pleasant person to be around. She is able to hold on to her individuality at a time where you need it most. Her attitude toward everything impresses me. She is never sad, and she always jokes around. I love how she can make Charlie feel so important, but she reminds him at the same time that he is a wallflower.

5) My least favorite character is Charlie's sister. She hasn't been given a name yet. I don't like the way she acts when she talks to Charlie. She is really mean and secretive about everything. After Bill told Charlie's parents about what he had told him, she was so cruel to Charlie. Charlie's parents needed to know that her boyfriend hit her. It is no okay for her to keep seeing her boyfriend after he did this to her. It was really inappropriate and she should not allow this to happen to her. She was so mean to Charlie after her parents confronted her. She said hurtful things to him that she would never be able to take back. Charlie did the right thing. He did not deserve to be treated badly by her. Charlie's sister needs to be able to make good judgements about who she should be hanging around with.

6) I have a few predictions so far. I think that Patrick and Brad's relationship is going to go public. It hasn't really been hinted at much, but I have a feeling it is going to happen. I feel like since Brad wants to keep it a secret, it will always get out somehow. It will probably be an embarrassing situation for everyone. The next prediction I have is about Charlie's sister. I think that Charlie's sister will keep seeing the boy that hit her. Even though Charlie's parents are strongly against her going out with that boy, she will find a way to secretly meet up with him. I think that this will happen because Charlie saw them dancing together at the homecoming dance. They might already be sneaking around together. It is just a matter of time before they see each other on a different scale. I don't think Charlie's parents will be too happy about their situation if they decide to see each other!

Megan Moruzzi

Megan Moruzzi
Just a Dog
Michael Gerard Bauer
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
57


1. I have recently started the book Just a Dog by Michael Gerard Bauer. This book is set up differently than other books. It is various stories about a dog named Mr. Mosley and his new found family. The main characters name is Corey. Corey's family is Mr. Mosley's owners. it is Corey's mom and dad and his two little sisters Amelia and Grace. They got him from his Uncle Gavin, his uncle is a dog breeder and had a batch of puppies that were not pure bread. His Uncle thinks that people only want pure bread dogs so he was giving that bunch away for free, so they took him. The book doesn't have much of a plot it is just random stories about Mr. Mosley. The stories about Mr. Mosley are funny because they are so strange. One of the stories was Corey was calling Moe to come to him and he usually always does but he would come half way across the wad stop and cry and then go back and it happened a couple of time and Corey didn't know what was wrong so him and his dad went over to see what was wrong and he had a fishing wire stuck in his mouth and he had to get stitches. I liked the excitement to the story but there was no rhyme or reason to it and the next chapter was a totally different subject. The other thing that I don't really like in this book is that at the end of every chapter is a cliff hanger but they never tell you what the solution is. For example they keep mentioning bad things about Uncle Gavin and how they had a falling out but they never tell you why and its kind of annoying. I like the stories but I don't like the fact that there really is no plot and all the things that I am wondering haven't even gotten mentioned again.

2. The book Just a Dog is interesting but a little boring. The book is set up so that every chapter is a different story about Moe. I like the characters and the different stories that happen in the book, but I think there could be a little more flow in it, and the author could have made it a little easier to understand. I really like the stories that are told in the book, some of them really make me think. In one of the stories Moe disappears for 2 weeks and the whole chapter describes what degrees the family goes to too search for him and some events leading up to the disappearance and then suddenly one night Moe just shows up at the back door and it says how surprised they were to see him and then it says something about what he brought back was even more surprising, but they never tell you what he brought back, the chapter just ends and you are left with so many unanswered questions. My favorite story so far in the book is Mr. Mosley's trick. Moe can hear the paper man coming and run to the yard and when the mail man throws the paper Moe catches it in his mouth and brings it to Corey. This is my favorite chapter because there is a lot of detail about how Moe learns the trick and what mistake he made that made him never get the mail again. Overall I think that the book is well written but I don't really understand what the author is trying to do when he puts a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter than never gets answered.

3. A major themes in this book is family blessing. I see this theme a lot throughout the book. Its not that the family is presented with a blessing, it is that they are reminded of there blessing, Moe. Moe is definitely a blessing because he brings the family a lot closer together. The family works together whenever Moe is in trouble to help him. Moe is also a blessing because Corey always says how much he can relate to Moe even though he is a dog. That stuck me as something important because it made me think that maybe Corey doesn't have anyone else to relate too. This theme appears mostly in the characters,  its when they have those family moments where everybody is sharing the same interest and that it Moe. When Moe came back form where ever he was, the whole family pats him an hugs him and kisses him because they are all so happy that he is home with them and I think that really shows how much Moe means to them.

4. My favorite character is Corey. I like Corey because I feel like he is the one that I know the best out of all the characters. I also think that he is the one that loves Moe the most. He takes time out of his day everyday after school and plays with Moe in the back yard. He was the one who taught Moe to catch the mail in his mouth. One day when they were playing in the back yard Corey herd the mail man coming so he decided that e wanted to try to catch the mail. The first couple times that Corey did this he would miss or the mail would fall out of his hands and then he might catch it the next day. But this one time that he went to get the mail Moe beat him to it. Corey was running for it and Moe knocked him down jumped off his shoulders and caught the papers in his mouth. After that Corey just let him get it day after day and he would get treat after treat.

5. My least favorite character it Uncle Gavin. Even though I don't know him that well yet I don't like the fact that he just gave Moe away and the way that he treats him. He is always trying to scare him. There is this one pink panther toy that Moe thinks is the scariest thing ever so Corey hide it so that Moe would never find it. One Christmas Uncle Gavin was over and he remembered Moe's fear so, he got the pink panther out of its hiding spot and quietly snuck around Moe and then jumped out at him and put the toy on his face and Gavin just laughed and laughed.  I don't think that this was funny because Moe was really scared and no one else thought it was funny. It was really immature and Moe didn't do anything bad to Uncle Gavin so why did he have to do such a cruel thing to Moe. I also don't like Uncle Gavin because in the book it keeps mentioning how they had a huge falling out with him but they don't tell you what happened. Corey and his family seem really nice so Uncle Gavin must have done something really bad to them.

6. My prediction is that something is going to happen towards the end of the book that explains all the cliffhangers and all the mysterious things that have been talk about in the book (Uncle Gavin's falling out). I think that this is going to happen because I don't think that it is fair that I have all these questions and they haven't even gotten mentioned again. I hope that either the last chapter or one of the last chapters explains everything that has gone on in the book so far that I don't understand. It would make me not like the book a lot if the points that have been made were no explained because Uncle Gavin is a big part of the story - he gave them Mr. Mosley, and if something happened to him I would like to know. I just think that this book would be a lot better if they told you more about whats going on rather than keeping you guessing at every chapter.

Chris Shanahan

Christopher Shanahan
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Historical Fiction
Challenging

1.     There are so many things happening in my book right now.  In the middle of the night Jem and Scout were sleeping.  Atticus ran in and woke them up.  He said get up and he said he will show Jem and Scout why.  When they got to the front door they saw that Miss Maudie's house was on fire.  A bunch of people were outside helping and Atticus said stay in front of the Radleys gate and don't move.  So Jem and scout went over to the gate and sat there.  They saw almost the whole town there, including Mr. Radley.  Within a few minutes they saw Mr. Avery jumping out of the window.  The house was burning from the bottom up and Mr. Avery is at the top floor.  Jem and Scout fall asleep while sitting outside the Radleys gate.  They woke up and went inside and Atticus asked them were they got the blanket from.  The kids had no idea.  They then thought it was Boo Radley that put it on them in the middle of the night.  Jem got scared and told Atticus everything that has happened in the past months.  Jem even told Atticus about the naut hole in the tree.

2.     This has been a really good book so far.  It has captivated me and wont let me put the book down. It keeps giving me new reasons to keep reading.  There has been a lot of action so far.  Also I think this book is a mystery in some parts.  For example who is Boo Radley, and are the rumors true about him.  It keeps me guessing and wanting to read more.  The plot is very good and the way it is written is amazing.  Harper Lee is writing this book very well so far.  This is the first time I have ever read a book from Harper Lee and I think I may want to read more books from Lee.  She has a lot of detail but not to much that it gives the story away.  It gives me just enough detail to keep me guessing which is a great way to write a book.

3.     The theme of this book maturity.  I think that the theme of the book is maturity because Jem is starting to grow up and so is scout.  Jem is starting to get that all these rumors about Boo Radleys are not real.  Scout is growing up to but not as fast as Jem.  Jem is turning into a man now.  He kinda of knows about what older people are saying.  For example Jem gets to sit at the older table with Aunt Alexandra and Uncle Jack.  Scout is now trying to use her words instead of her fists.  Atticus believes she can do it.  Scout walks away from a fight because she did not want to disrespect her dad.

4.     My favorite character is Scout.  She is my favorite character because she is starting to become a better person.  She is starting to use her words instead of her fists.  She is becoming a nice girl.  She is trying to ignore the kids at her school when they say very rude things about her dad.  One her friends at her school stood on the playground at recesses and say a very incorporate phrase about Atticus.  He thinks Atticus should not be helping a black guy in court.  Scout said to herself walkaway because she did not want to break the promise her and her dad made.  Even though the kid on the playground was calling Scout a coward she still walked away.

5.     My least favorite character is Mr. Radley.  I don't like Mr. Radley because he kept his son locked in his house for over fifteen years.  Even though Boo Radley did something bad does not mean he should get that cruel of a punishment.  Mr. Radley knew that Boo Radley, Jem, and Scout were secretly passing items.  So Mr. Radley decided to fill cement into the tree that Boo puts all of the items in.  Jem got really sad and cryed on the porch because he knew they had lost the connection with whoever was in that house.  Mr. Radley just wanted to make his son suffer.

6.     I think that Boo Radley, Jem, and Scout will find another connection.  Then Mr. Radley will find out and do something that makes Boo Radley suffer even more than he already does.  Mr. Radley will do some mean things to Scout and Jem like bully them or harass them.  Mr. Radley will do that just so he can get revenge for letting Jem and Scout see Boo Radley.  I think this because earlier in the book it told us that Mr. Radley made Boo Radley stay inside the house for over fifteen years.  So I would not be suprised if Mr. Radley did something crazy.

Robby Black
Sunrise Over Fallujah
Walter Dean Myers
Historical Fiction
Just Right
80

1. I have been reading Sunrise Over Fallujah,Dean Myers. Right now in the book pewee one of the main characters was put in the Civil affairs unit, and they are going into Iraq to try to talk to the Iraqi people and to try and work with them to help find the terrorists. There are other units working with and those units are supposed to do most of the fighting but it is looking so far like that will not happen. The CA unit has been sent to their vehicles and they are now headed to go to the towns to talk to the Iraqi people. They are not all to happy to be in the CA unit and they all don't think anything bad can happen to them because their not being put into the bulk of the fight.

2. I think Walter Dean Myers always adds great detail into his stories. I recently read Fallen Angles and it was also by Walter and his descriptive writing was the main thing that kept me reading the book. In Sunrise Over Fallujah his writing is not the reason i have kept reading it is more because it is an action packed book that never slows down besides the start were it gets into the book.

3. I think the theme in my book is probably chaos and order because in some points there is so much chaos going around and then the next page everyone has settled down. This is another reason why this book is so good because you never know what to expect next. This goes back to Walter being so descriptive and it how he can change the characters emotions so quickly.

4. My favorite character is Pewee because he is always positive to the CA unit. He is also the kindest out of them all, the others are always making negative comments and making bad comments about other people in the CA unit. Also Pewee writes to his uncle and I think it is very neat to see his letters. Most characters did not take their training seriously and don't think anything bad can happen to them but Pewee thinks realistically and knows what could happen to him in the army.

5. Marla is my least favorite character because she is the character that is the most negative. Marla never is nice to any other characters and she is always looking at the down side of thing and never looks at the posotive things. She also makes fun of the other characters which is something I don't think she should be doing because these people are going to have to spend alot of time together.

6. I think that the CA unit will be caught in the bulk of the war and the will take alot of casualties. Also I think the CA unit will be able to get to the Iraqi people and solve the problems with the terrorists. I hope that once the fighting starts it does not end so suddenly. I think Walter will be able to sustain a good detailed long fight.

Sam Hennessey

Block C

Brisinger

Just right

374

1) In Brisinger by Chris Paolini Eragon and his dragon Saphira are at their home base the Varden.  They are talking in their tent when they hear a war horn. They climb out of the tent and they see 200 enemy soldiers climb out of their boats.  They know this will be an easy fight because the Varden has well over 5, 000 soldiers. The Varden send 300 soldiers into battle.  When the battle starts none of the enemy soldiers are dying. Eragon goes down to help them.  He cuts off a man's arm and the man does not flinch.  Eragon knows that there is something going on.  There is a curse on the enemy soldiers that makes them feel no pain.  While this is going on, Eragon sees a red speck on the horizon.  It is an enemy dragon.

2) I feel as if the book is getting too slow for me at parts. The book goes on and on about stuff they don't need to talk about. Like the author can go on forever talking about a landscape or a building. When this happens I find the book very boring. But when there is a twist or something exciting happens I can't put this book down.  I have mixed feelings about this book.  Overall, I think it is a decent exciting book.

3) The theme of this book so far is redemption.  Eragon fights Murtagh in the beginning of the book and he loses miserably.  Then later on in the book, Eragon becomes stronger and he fights Murtagh again.  This time he defeats Murtagh easily and his belief in his power is redeemed.  But Eragon is not satisfied because Murtagh still got away and Eragon knows Murtagh will be back bigger and stronger than ever. 

4) My favorite character in this book is Nasuada.  She is my favorite character at the moment because she is the wisest.  Eragon keeps trying to make silly decisions and she always corrects him and tells him what is right.  She is a great leader because her father was the leader of the Varden.  She learned many things from her father and that is why she is so wise. Oftentimes the suggestions she makes seem absurd at first but then the outcome shows that it was the wisest decision.

5) My least favorite character in this book is King Galbatorix.  He is my least favorite character because the only person he cares about is himself.  He is a dragon rider like Eragon and he knows many things about magic.  He does not use magic for good but rather uses it for evil.  When you use magic it uses up your energy.  Instead of using his own energy, Galbatorix uses plants and animals around him so everything around him suffers and dies while he uses magic for his own good.

6) The next thing I think will happen in this book is Eragon and Murtagh will meet again and they will both be stronger but I think Eragon will come out on top. I think this because nobody is willing to give Murtagh energy to cast his spells.  All of the Varden are willing to give up a little bit of their power to help Eragon cast spells and eventually defeat Murtagh.  I also think there will be a battle between the Varden and Galbatorix's army because there has been an ongoing conflict between Galbatorix and the Varden throughout the series. I think it will end in a gruesome battle the outcome of which I cannot predict.

Abdell St. Paul
The Maze Runner
James Dashner
Science Fiction
Just Right
185


1.  I'm currently reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner. During my book Thomas and Newt go to eat and discuss what’s happened. Thomas notices that people have become wary of him, and that they watch him, now. He wonders what it is that makes him different from the other people of the Glade. He and Newt then discuss all that has happened. Newt thinks Gally is lucky not to be Banished for physically attacking Thomas in the Keepers’ meeting, because it disrupted the underlying order of the community. He explains that Thomas will be with Newt for the rest of the day, will spend the following day in the Slammer doing his discipline, and after that will be assigned to Minho for training. Newt then takes up the point that Alby, the girl, and Gally all think that things are going to change, and soon. Alby, Gally, and Ben all have Change memories of Thomas, and remember him as doing something bad. Thomas argues he has no memory of any of that. Newt agrees, but points out that the information may still be crucial, and demands Thomas tell him anything that might shed light on the situation. Thomas has no clear memories, but grudgingly admits that the girl seems familiar to him—but that he doesn’t know why. He again makes Thomas promise to tell him if he thinks of anything, and then says they now have to go see the girl. They go up to her room in the Homestead, where Clint, the Med-jack is watching over her. Clint thinks the girl will wake up soon. He comments that she keeps talking in her coma, and that she keeps mentioning Thomas by name. Thomas, thinking about the girl, focusing his thoughts, gets the sense that he feels something powerful for her, but that he doesn't know what. He does, however, assure Newt that he believes he does know the girl, or that he did in his prior life. Newt encourages him to keep working on it, and as Thomas thinks, he hears her mind-voice for the first time, saying her own name in response to his wondering who she is. 

2.  I feel that the book is very interesting because the author described the girl in lots of detail. I liked how the author described how the voice echoed into Newts mind for example James Dashner described how the voice touched Newts eardrums and how they were inside his mind.  I liked how James Dashner described what Alby wasn't capable of. I feel like James Dashner is pushing me into the book because Thomas became a runner and I wanted to why Thomas wanted to become a runner. I liked how their were quote in this book that explained what question Thomas was talking about. So far in this book I dislike how the chapters were set up in this book because it gets very confusing when you're reading chapter 27 and you are in page 170. I dislike that their are many characters in this book. This is the first time I read this kind of author.

3. One of the themes that I noticed in this book is bravery. Through out the book I noticed this theme in the characters. For example when Thomas saw Minho and Alby struggling to return to the Glade before the Wall closes he rushes out to help them. Thomas must call on his own will and fortitude to overcome a 
frightning situation. This theme appears in both characters and plot because Thomas has to be Brave to show the Gladers a way out of the maze, and Thomas has to be brave to discover his own destiny.

4. My favorite character in The Maze Runner is Chuck because when Thomas was the new Chuck wanted to guide Thomas in Glade. He is talkative, innocent and naive, and though he is also annoying at times Thomas comes to see Chuck as a friend and even as a sort of younger brother. Thomas takes it upon himself to ensure that Chuck gets out of the Maze and is reunited with his family. His character represents innocence.   
He protects his friends and solves codes.

5. My least favorite character in The Maze Runner is Gally because he is stubborn. He bullied Thomas on his first day at the Glade. He tells Thomas he has seen him before, during the Changing, and sows suspicion amongst the Gladers. He betrayed everyone in the Glades. He's an enemy to Thomas. He's the protagonist. he doesn't treat others nicely. He's a horrible leader. He is sometimes evil and sometimes good.

6. I predict that Gally is betraying the Gladers and is with the Wicked because he has disappeared into the maze and he has not come back. I based this prediction on when Gally disappeared from the Gladers. I thought of this prediction when Gally said that Thomas was a spy from the Wicked. The author has guided me into this prediction by describing how Gally was angry and suspicious towards Thomas.

NO@H'S BLOG POST

Noah Lawrence

Maze Runner

James Dashner

Holiday

Finished 374 pages

1.       I recently finished Maze Runner by: James Dashner. The end of the book was very interesting. It turns out that Thomas, the third newest edition to the glade, a place surrounded by mazes, has a connection with the new girl Theresa, who is the one and only girl to come to the glade. They have a special connection and Theresa tells Thomas that they were both involved in the implementation of the maze.  In the last chapters, Thomas loses a good friend, Chuck, after making it out of the Maze by discovering a path hidden in an illusion.  Gally makes an attempt to kill Thomas, but is saved by Chuck as he steps in front of Thomas taking the knife.  The twenty or so Gladers left are put on a bus to be sent to another facility by this group of rescuers.  On the bus, Thomas is approached by a scarred woman that begins to tell to the story of the Maze.  Many years ago the flares began.  The flares came from the sun scorching everything.  The solar flares threatened all the people of the earth.  Shortly after the solar flares happened then a new disease began to spread.  This disease is called the Flare.   Once the ecosystem fell apart, they could no longer control the spread of this horrible disease.  As the bus ride continues, the old woman tells Thomas and Theresa the reason for the experiments.  The purpose is to find the chosen one who can cure the Flare.  These rescuers do not want WICKED, an organization that uses the children in their experiments, to continue to experiment at the expense of humanity.  The rescuers are hoping that Thomas and Theresa will join their cause.  In a memo sent from WICKED, Ava Paige, reveals to her associates that this has been all part of the plan for the Gladers.  The plan is to find the most resourceful and intelligent child who can find a way to cure the Flare and save the population at all costs!

2.       This book is very detailed and it is loaded with suspense and action. There is a new, surprising event in every chapter. There are many cliff hangers and the reader cannot put this book down because it has so much suspense. The author is so creative in this book.  He developed great plot twists and surprises and somehow still manages to add great details. When you read this book it feels as though time stops because you get so immersed in the story.  The characters make so many sacrafices for one another that after reading this book, I want to go do something awesome like donate time and money to helpful organizations.

3.       The theme of this book is nature verses humans. This is the theme because the Gladers (humans) fight against the greavers (nature) and the maze (nature) to survive and to try to free themselves and once they do they find themselves faced with another challenge, fighting the Flare (nature).

4.       My favorite character is Chuck. He would do anything for Thomas, the main character. He is innocent and caring. He saved Thomas’ life by shielding a knife with his body. The knife was thrown by Gally Thomas’s enemy. Chuck resembles my little brother.  We fight and annoy each other but when it comes down to it we love each other I would give my life for him and I hope he would do the same for me.

5.       My least favorite character is Gally he is mean to everyone for no reason and he attempted to kill Thomas after Thomas saved most of the Gladers. Gally is mostly bad but there is a glimpse of good here and there. Overall, though, he is just a mean guy.

6.       I always knew that Thomas would lead the Gladers out of the maze accompanied by Theresa but what I did not expect was that this was an experiment. Some thoughts that I had about the book were that they may be in a parallel dimension or they could be in a video game.  The clues to the ending were hidden but if you read very carefully you could find them.

Jamie Wright

Jamie Wright
Hero
Mike Lupica
Fiction
Just Right
123

1. I am currently reading Hero by Mike Lupica. This book is set in New York City in modern times. Zach Harriman is a regular boy with a dad that is always traveling for work. Zach knows that being an assistant for the President of the United States is an important job, but he is upset that he never gets to see him. When traveling on behalf of the President, Zach's father dies in a plane crash. Zach is devastated because he will never see his father again. Zach is questioning whether this was an accident or if it was sabotage, because his father was such a great pilot. So Zach decides to research it and find the truth. Zach also starts to realize some changes in his life both physically and in his personality. I just read the part where Zach goes to the place where his father's plane crashed. This is where he finds his father's body. He also meets "Mr.Herbert" for the first time. Mr.Herbert told Zach that his father had "the magic" in him, and that he had this magic too. As Mr.Herbert disappears into the brush, Zach chases him. He closes his eyes as he picks up speed, and when he re-opens them, he realizes that he is in front of his apartment building, about 100 hundred miles from where he was before. This part was very suspenseful and I found it hard to put the book down.

2. I feel that this book provides the reader with great detail. The author  describes Zach's perspectives on life, hardships and the way characters react to him.  When Spence was picking a fight with Zach, he   knew Spence was pushing all of his buttons and bullying him  but he couldn't do anything about it. The "old" Zach would never had fought back in the past. He just would have let Spence get away with it.Zach also explained how he felt when he started boxing the wall, and chasing Mr.Herbert. Lupica did a good job describing how the silver dollar shimmered and glowed when Mr.Herbert put it in his hand. Lastly, Lupica did a good job describing the way Kate reacted to Zach being there so early. These are points in the book where I felt the author did really well at describing things.

3. I feel that the theme of this book so far is overcoming fear. One example would be when Zach fought Spence after he threw the ball at his head. This is an example of overcoming fear because he is a lot smaller then him and the odds were against him. Also before his fathers death, Zach would have never been able to work up the nerve to fight back against Spence. Another fear would be overcoming his fathers death. Most people would just sulk around their house and mourn for a long time, but Zach went out and researched his fathers death and he did something about it. One last example would be when he made that guy in the bushes run away. This is overcoming fear because Zach wouldn't have done anything like that before. Zach know feels he has "the magic" and he is willing to embrace it.That is why the theme is overcoming fear.

4. My favorite character is Zach because he's athletic, passionate, and brave. One example of him being athletic would be that he was a starter for his basketball team. He is also very athletic because of the changes that he was experiencing. I find Zach to be passionate because he will not give up until he knows the truth about his father's death. He is willing to risk gt=etting in to trouble to find the truth. One example of Zach being brave is when he stood up to Spence in the hallway. Another example of him being brave was when he stayed with Mr.Herbert by himself in the middle of nowhere. One last example of this would be him sneaking out in the middle of the night in New York City. Those are the reasons why Zach is my favorite character.

5. My least favorite character is Spence because he's a liar and a bully. One example of him lying would be how he tries to act so nice and kind when he's is around Kate. He also tried to seem sympathetic about Zach's Dad's death. Another example of him being a liar is when he told his mom that he wasn't near home so he could fight with Zach. An example of him being a bully is when he was trash talking to Zach during a practice  and threw the ball at Zach's head, when Zach was trying to be nice.  Spence also is a bully is when he calls Zach "freak boy". Those are the reasons why Spence is my least favorite character.

6. I predict that Zach will tell Kate about his meeting with Mr.Herbert and about his  new found "powers". I believe this will play out this way since Zach has already shared many secrets with Kate. I think that Zach will continue to have to use his powers more and more in the future. This power takes over Zach's body and he becomes almost a totally different person. An example of this is when he starts punching the wall. I also think that he will meet Mr.Herbert again since there seems to be a lot of unanswered questions from Zach's perspective.  Those are my predictions for what is going to happen later on in the book.

Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee
Winter White
Jen Calonita
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
110


1. The book that I'm reading right now is Winter White by Jen Calonita. Winter White is the sequel to Belles, and focuses on two girls, Mira and Izzie. In the first book, you learn about Izzie, a teen growing up in crime-stricken Harborside. She's lived with her grandmother since her mom died when she was ten, up until recently because of her grandmother's increasing health issues. When Izzie's social worker finds a long lost uncle who is willing to take Izzie in, Izzie is sent to live with them while her grandmother is moved to a nursing home. Her new life with her uncle and his family is much different than her old  one. She now lives in Emerald Cove, a high end suburb close to Harborside but with much different social, and economic environments. Everyone in Emerald Cove is wealthy and refined, including her new family which include her Uncle Bill, who's a North Carolina senator, Aunt Maureen, and cousins Mira, Hayden, and Connor. Adjusting to her new life in Emerald Cove, and going to school at the high end private school, Emerald Prep. Throughout the whole book, Izzie is faced with dealing with her cousin Mira's mean best friend, Savannah, and trying to fit in when she clearly doesn't belong. At the end of the book, a bombshell is dropped at the school's charity dance, that Uncle Bill isn't really her uncle, but rather her father. The sequel starts out with both Mira and Izzie still harboring distrust towards their father after keeping this from all of them, even though he only found out about Izzie a month before she moved in with them. While everything looks fine, and they appear as the happy family on TV appearances to smooth things over as Bill runs for U.S. Senate, behind the scenes Izzie and Mira are still mad about the whole incident. Both of the girls are dealing with their own problems as well, as Mira is being exiled from her old friend group after formally accepting Izzie as a friend and sister. She's taking the loss of friends harder than everyone thinks, and she only has Kellen, her crush and only friend to lean on for support. Izzie has mixed feeling about Brayden, her best guy friend and also long standing crush. All seems to be well, as he wants to be with her, the only problem is that he's Savannah's recent ex, and Izzie doesn't want to worry about poking the dragon. Both girls are Sophmores in high school, which means that they're also having to juggle all of their family issues, friend issues, and boy issues, with the problem of Cotillion, and all of the hazing that comes with it. In the last part I read, the girls had just finished their first dare given to them by the former Debutantes, girls who are now juniors in high school at Emerald Cove. No one knows who the girls are that run the tests for the Cotillion initiation process, but all of them are very mischievous and occasionally cruel with the assignments they give out. I loved this last part because the Cotillion captain did all of the girls' makeup like Lady Gaga, and made them go out as a group and sing a song in the middle of a football game. I especially liked this part because they dressed Savannah up as the devil, which I though really suited her personality.

2. So far I am loving this book. I couldn't put Belles down, and this one is even better. The whole idea of the book is so amazing, and I'm so jealous of Izzie that she get's to live that life, even after she's endured all the hardships she has. I love how the book has a Cinderella theme to it, as Izzie led a tough life before the Monroes took her in, but now she has great friends, and a loving family even if they don't always tell her the whole truth. I can kind of see why Bill didn't tell Izzie he was her dad right away. He had just recently found out himself, and when Izzie comes to live with them, the adjustment is hard enough, finding you're long-absent father would be really hard to take in. Not to mention the fact that Bill is running for U.S. Senate, and even though he never had an affair, and Izzie was born even before he was married, if news got out like that, the media would not take kindly to the announcement, like they are now. I felt really bad for Izzie that she had to find out when there were a bunch of people around, and it kind of just came out, but I think she's completely overreacting now when she won't forgive Bill for not telling her. It's also kind of ridiculous that Mira's angry as well, because it doesn't really concern her. She should be happy she has a sister, not mad at her dad because he was waiting for the best time to tell the family.

3. One theme that I've noticed throughout the book is Power of wealth. Basically all of the characters in the book are rich, and if they can't get something fairly, than they'll obtain it through their money or power. Savannah blackmails Mira for much of the first book with her dad's wealth and support of Mira's dad's campaign. Savannah also buys off all of the businesses in town so they won't cater Izzie's charity fundraiser. It frustrates me that the characters in the book don't realize how lucky they are, except Izzie. Something I really admire about Izzie is that she's not afraid to point out to Mira how lucky she is, which is something that Mira doesn't recognize even though she's a really nice person. Almost all of the characters in this book are spoiled and would be lost without all the money they have. Even they pretend to care about the less fortunate, and do fundraisers for them, they really only do it to make themselves look better, which is the wrong reason to give to charity. Even the charity's they give to are snobby, like the yacht club in town, or the save the official bird of EC, charities that don't even need that much support. I think that since Izzie has entered the story though, she's influenced people to be more thankful.

4. My favorite character in the story is Izzie. She is so lucky to have the opportunity to live where she does and get the education that she gets and she totally recognizes that. She's also has a temper and although she keeps it in check most of the time, it's so fun to see her when she rebels against what Savannah wants her to do. At the beginning of Belles she was really shy and was kind of a push-over but now she's a lot more confident now that she has friends and she's turning into a really fun character. Another reason I love Izzie as a character is because she always stands up for what she believes in. She wants to support her old community center which has fallen into disrepair and is in risk of being torn down. She doesn't give up though as she raises money to save the building. Even through all of Savannah's schemes to make her give up she perseveres and finds creative solutions to her problems like using the school barn as the venue for the dance and using caterers from Harborside instead of caterers from EC. She's so hardworking which is a really admirable trait to have. She's also extremely forgiving and even after Brayden ignores her and pretends he doesn't know her when they first meet, she forgives him for it. She forgives Mira after she does some pretty horrible stuff to her, and she's already closer to forgiving her dad than Mira is. Izzie never holds a grudge which is amazing after all the things she's had to go through.

5. My least favorite character is definitely Savannah. I don't think I can find one positive thing to say about her. She's cruel, exclusive, and judges Izzie before she even gets to know her. All of the things she does to Izzie like ruining her chances of getting any help from the businesses in Emerald Cove are so mean and she only does it because Izzie is different from the rest of them. When Mira realizes how horrible of a friend Savannah is, she is excluded from the group. Savannah is nasty to Mira whenever she sees her, and disguises insults behind what seem like compliments. That's the worst kind of person in my opinion, because you can never tell if they're being genuine or sarcastic. Savannah excludes Izzie from her little group too, and makes Mira do it as well, which is totally unfair because even though they don't know it, Izzie is Mira's sister. I was so happy to see the Cotillion captain be rude to Savannah when she complains about what they have to do for their first challenge. I thought that Savannah totally deserved the makeover they gave her, and I thought it was awesome when Izzie took a picture of it. I hope that Savannah gets better as the book continues, but I doubt she will since it seems like people like her never change.

6. A prediction that I have is that the challenges for the Cotillion imitation will get harder, and that some of the girls will drop out. As much of an honor it is to be a Debutante, I don't think all of the girls are cut out for the jobs that will be assigned. I think that Brayden and Izzie will start going out, but that Savannah will get really angry since she is Brayden's ex. I think that she will try to break them up if they start going out, and that she might succeed. I think that Mira will get shot down if she admits to Kellen that she likes him, because it doesn't really seem like he likes her any more than on a friend basis. I think that Bill will end up doing something drastic to get Mira and Izzie to forgive him for not telling them the truth about everything, and that it will work. I hope that that happens soon though because I can tell that he is really upset that they won't forgive him. I think the rest of the book will be filled with surprises, and that each chapter will get better and better.