Looking for Alaska Post #4

Of all the choices I had for summer reading, one novel clearly stood out to me from the very beginning. This novel just so happens to be Looking for Alaska by John Green. My attention was drawn to this novel particularly because I have heard only amazing reviews about this book, both from my peers and online. I have heard this book reels you in and is very hard to put down, which is a quality I look for in books. Another reason I have chosen to read this book is because I recently read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and it was one of the best books I have read in my entire life. I felt connected to Looking for Alaska because one of the themes in the book was peer pressure, and I am constantly finding myself under peer pressure. I would definitely recommend this book to any mature teenager, or anybody who feels comfortable reading a book that has content such as drugs, drinking, etc. I think teenagers would like this book because it deals with current issues that go on in the teenage world, such as falling under the peer pressure of doing drugs, or drunk driving. This book left me with a powerful message and I definitely recommend reading it!

Looking for Alaska Post #3

"I need y'all to go to the gym." "Now", he added. And as if answering my prayers, the Eagle said, "You're not in trouble. But you need to go to the gym now." I heard the Colonel rolling over above me. "What's wrong?" "Something terrible has happened," the Eagle said, and then closed the door(Green 138). In this part of the book, the Eagle, the school principal, announces to Pudge and the Colonel that they must immediately go to the gym to hear some bad news. The Eagle is about to announce to the whole school that Alaska Young died the previous night in a car accident. This part of the book has the intention to hook readers because a few pages before, Alaska Young was out driving in the middle of the morning. Once the Eagle stops by to announce everyone must report to the school gym, the readers heart drops. The reader doesn't want to assume the worst and believe that Alaska might be dead, so they start to assume otherwise. They start to hope that the Eagle will be announcing something else. It also hooks the reader because the reader is very curious to see if Pudge and the Colonel are in trouble. 

Looking for Alaska: Post #2

           In the novel I am currently reading, Looking for Alaska, I am starting to pick up on a new trend: each character has a strong desire or will for something.  For Miles Halter (Pudge), his favorite obsession is memorizing the last words of famous people as they are dying. This made Pudge crave the “Great Perhaps” (Francois Rabelais, poet). Throughout the book, Pudge has been mentioning the Great Perhaps quite often, thinking of what he must do to achieve his own Great Perhaps. However, I think it’s going to be difficult for Pudge to seek a Great Perhaps if he keeps up with his new drinking and smoking habits. For Alaska Young, the beautiful, intelligent girl living down the hall from Pudge, her goal is to put her many problems behind her. When Alaska was younger, her mom had a seizure and Alaska, being very young back then, failed to call 9-1-1. Alaska feels very guilty about this and continually blames herself for her mother’s death. Another problem Alaska has was her father leaving the family. Her father would blame Alaska for her mother’s death, which, again, allowed Alaska to feel she was the cause of her mother’s death. Alaska solves this problem by drinking a lot and planning pranks. I think one theme that is starting to appear is that there is more to life than one person’s experience, and we will never know why certain things may happen to our loved ones.

Looking for Alaska: Post #1

I am currently reading Looking For Alaska by John Green. There are many characters I find to be interesting. Some main characters include Miles  Halter (Pudge), Chip  Martin (Colonel), Takumi  Hikohito, Alaska Young, the Eagle (Mr. Starnes), and Lara Buterskaya. Not to mention the old man, Dr Hyde, who I, not going to lie, find to be quite boring. The setting of this novel is at Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. Pudge is originally from Florida, but decided to go to Culver Creek because his father went there and really enjoyed it. Pudge hopes that his decision to attend Culver Creek is a wise choice and that he will be able to make friends, since he didn’t have many back in Florida, and that he will be able to perform better academically. The conflict of this novel is that Pudge gets involved in the wrong group of people. He starts to do things he never imagined, like smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. He also became friends with a group of people who don’t mind, but rather enjoy being rebellious and doing pranks.  Once Pudge realizes this, he doesn’t stand up for what he believes is right, but rather he steps out of his comfort zone. I predict that Pudge is going to get in trouble for his actions, which might anger his parents. Can standing up for your beliefs change who you are as a person, and possibly shape your future?

Final Blogging Assessment in English 1B

    Throughout the trimester, I think  my writing style has changed for the better. There are many new diction and syntax strategies that I have incorporated into my blogging. In my last post entitiled "Review on My Book", I used elevated diction. I used the word quite, intsead of very. "There are also lots of quotes in this book that I really like and find to be quite inspirational." I also used the word simply, instead of just. "It taught me that you can't simply change who you are, but you can choose what you do in your life and who you impact."As far as syntax goes, I wrote in all caps for some sentences to enhance the importance of some lines. One place I used this technique is when I said "WHO WANTS TO READ A BOOK WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN???" I also added lots of question marks to make it seem more obvious.

    This trimester, I set a blogging goal for myself. My goal was to add more voice to all of my pieces, and to show more of my personality into my blogging. I think I have achieved this goal over the course of the trimester, because I use many examples of textual evidence by providing quotes. For instance, in my last post entitled “Review on my book”, I described some quotes that I found to be quite inspirational. “So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them"(Chbosky 211).  I listed the quote, then continued to describe how this touched me. I described how this quote shows that you can’t simply change who you are, but you can change your actions and you can change how you impact others. I also included many links into my posts, such as a picture and quote by the author. I included a quote in my post entitled “Blog Post About the Author”, and I included a cover picture of the book in my post entitled “Why I Chose this Book”.

Review on my book

  I am almost finished with the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was not very predictable, which in my opinion, is a good thing. After all, WHO WANTS TO READ A BOOK WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN???Another thing I liked about this book is that it had many good lessons. Charlie is always standing up for what he believes is right. He is also a very humble person and he never tries to show off. There are also lots of quotes in this book that I really like and find to be quite inspirational.“So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them"(Chbosky 211). This quote taught me a lot. It taught me that you can't simply change who you are, but you can choose what you do in your life and who you impact. Last, the thing I like the most about this book is that once you start reading, you CAN NOT STOP!! I would reccomend this book to anyone in high school or older. I hope you find this book to be as enjoyable as I did!

Best and Worst Qualities

 I am close to finishing my independent novel entitled The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I have noticed that the main character, Charlie, has many qualities, both good and bad. I think the best quality Charlie has is being loyal. He stands up for what he believes even if it involves him getting into trouble. Also, he cares about those around him. He tells on his sister, but only because he cares. I think Charlie's worst quality is that he is often questioning his actions. He lacks confidence and sometimes he holds back. I think that my best quality is that I'm honest.I always try to tell the truth even if it gets me in trouble. My parents always say that if I get in trouble and lie, I will get a punishment for what I did wrong and an extra punishment for lying. I think my worst quality is that I am very impatient.