Post #11: Final Blog Post for Semester 1

Final Blog Post for Semester 1

     Hello everyone! I hope you are all well. As the holidays are quickly approaching, many schools are rounding up their first semester and having final grades, exams, etc. including my school. Finals are only a week and a half away! As most of you know, I do this blog for my Freshman Honors English Class, and this post is an assessment/reflection of the semester long assignment. In this post, I will be covering the books I have read on my own over the past sixteen to seventeen weeks, a reflection of my blog posts quality and how they improved, and some goals I am going to set for myself for second semester independent reading and blogging.

     Over the course of the past sixteen to seventeen weeks, reading has become a big part of my daily life because of my English class. Whether it is independent, in-class, or for homework, I read at some point every day. I did not quite reach my goal of independently read books this semester, but I did read more books in the first semester than I have in probably a year. The books that I read this semester include The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Shack by William Paul Young (I did not finish this book all the way through, but I am counting it because I did get a very good chunk of it read), I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, and Jimi and Me by Jaime Adoff. My goal was to read seven books this semester, fifteen books by the end of my freshman year. I was only two away from reaching my goal for first semester, which I think is pretty good. I believe that the reason for me not reaching my independent reading goal this semester was because it was my first semester of my first year in high school, so I was still learning how to deal with more classes than I was previously used to and more homework. I still think I did a pretty good job reading wise this semester!

     My posts over the first semester were very consistent. I kept up with my due dates and tried my best, but that isn’t was counts 100%. What counts is the content of my posts, how I engaged my readers, and how I hopefully encouraged some of you to read a bit more. My blog posts always included voice and character. Most of the time I included links, pictures, or videos somehow related to the book I was posting about.  A few of my posts did not include links, pictures or videos, but were still engaging. One thing that I really struggled with in all of my posts was using textual evidence from the book. Whether it was talking about a line I really enjoyed, or supporting my idea of what the theme was, I never really cited any specific textual quotes. I really intend to work on this issue next semester, as long as trying to include a few more technological gadgets in my posts.

     I had a very positive experience with blogging this semester and I am excited to continue with blogging when I return from winter break, but I am going to set some goals for myself for next semester. First, I am going to include textual evidence/quotes in my posts. I am doing this because I think this adds an element to the blog that my blog was lacking. The textual evidence also tends to engage the reader more and provide a better understanding. Second, I am going to read up to my goal of 15 books by the end of my second semester. This means I will have to read 10 books, but now that I am in the swing of things here at school, I don’t think that will be a problem for me to do. Finally, I am going to try to comment more on other people's blogs and stay up to date on my class blogging chart. I did not stay up to date with my chart like I should have this past semester and it really hurt me. I had a lot of extra home work that I could have done without.
     I hope you all enjoyed my reading blog over the past weeks. I will be taking a short break from it while I am on holiday break from school, but as soon as I return I'll start posting again. Until then, thanks for reading and I hope you have a great holiday season. Bye for now!

Post #10: Romeo and Juliet

     Hello everyone! As you know, I am in Freshman Year Honors English, and we are reading William Shakespeare's famous play, Romeo and Juliet. Going into it, I had a very negative feeling towards Shakespeare because of previous experiences, as most kids my age do, but as we began to get into it and break it down piece by piece, I really began enjoying it. Most everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, so I won't bore you with a summary of it. (If you would like to read a summary of Romeo and Juliet, click the link below.)
Amazon Link to Romeo and Juliet
      I feel that kids get a negative feeling towards Shakespeare because of the way it is taught to them, pounded into their head over and over until they get sick at the thought of Elizabethan language and sonnets. My teacher does it a bit differently, careful not to make us that way towards this man's amazing writing. She takes it slow, making sure to stop and explain if we don't understand, which really helps me to have a better understanding for both the story line and the Elizabethan language it is written in. As of now, we are on Act 1 Scene 5, the Capulet party. I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't read this masterpiece, but I really do enjoy reading Shakespeare. If you read this post, I am asking you to do yourself a favor if you haven't already and read Romeo and Juliet. If you have read Romeo and Juliet, then read another play written by Shakespeare, like A Midsummer Nights Dream. I will post again next week, until next week, stay literate. I shall see you upon thy morrow!
Amazon Link to A Midsummer Nights Dream

Post #9: Jimi and Me

Hello! This is my 9th post as you can see and this week I'm going to be posting about the book I'm reading called Jimi and Me by Jaime Adoff. As odd as it may sound, I love Jimi Hendrix. I wasn't born in the 60s or 70s when he was popular, but I did grow up around his music because my parents are big fans of his. So, this book did spark some interest. I have been extremely busy the past week, so I haven't gotten very much time to read, but the few pages that I did read were structured differently than your normal novel. This book is written like a song or a poem. I thought that only the first few pages were like that to introduce you to the story line and things of that nature, but after flipping through, I realized that all the pages are written this way. Veering away from the way the book is written and structured, it is about a 13 year old boy, which has not been named yet, whose father passed away so his family is moving out of their old house into a new one. Through all of this, the boy finds an escape in music, particularly that of the talented guitar player, Jimi Hendrix. I think that I am really going to enjoy this book once I get the time to actually read a good amount of it. If you would like to read a more in depth summary of Jimi and Me or purchase it, you can click the link below, Other than that, I hope you have a great week, and if you have read this book, please comment below and let me know how you liked it. Bye Bye! :)
Amazon Link to Jimi and Me

Blog Post #8: Multicultural Memoir

Multicultural Memoir Blog Post: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Central Idea of the Text:

When women are educated, they can have the power to change the world.

Synopsis of the Memoir and Visual:

I Am Malala is about a young Pakistani girl who has to deal with the hardships of growing up in a society where women have no rights. She has a strong love for education and will do anything to bring equality into the schools. Malala is very smart and quite the public speaker. As the Taliban took over her village, she and her family were brave and stood up for their beliefs. Shown below is the Yousafzai family and the book cover of I am Malala.

Images from: timeopinions.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/yousafazai_iammalala.jpg

communitytable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/yousafazai-family-ftr-1024x640.jpg

Connecting Memoir to Outside Research Including Links to Outside Articles:

This memoir illustrates the everlasting war and inequality in the middle east. Malala though, decides she wants to make a difference and stand up to the horrible Taliban that was trying (and is still trying) to create a Holocaust. After Malala’s incredible recovery from the shooting, women have gained more strength to also stand up for their personal beliefs. In the link below, the article describes how women now are making a change in the middle east.

A Crucial Moment for Afghan Women

Malala continues to speak and teach about how women should be equal all over the world. She has even won the Nobel Peace Prize and is the youngest to ever receive one. For more information about Malala being the youngest to get the Nobel Peace Prize, click the link below.

Malala Yousafzai Is the Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner in History
Malala continues to impact many people all throughout the world, specifically young women. She believes that women can change the world. Throughout this book, she has proven that even though challenges are inevitable, absolutely anything is able to be accomplished through hard work and constant determination.

Post #7: The Color of Water by James McBride

Hello everyone! It has been quite some time since I posted something, so here we go! For the past week or two I have been reading The Color of Water by James McBride. This book is about a young boy who has a white mother and a black father during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. I am absolutely LOVING this book! My class is reading it as a whole, so right now we are supposed to be on chapter 18-20, where as I am already on chapter 22, but hey! That means less homework for me! One of the reasons why I am enjoying this book so much us because it teaches you some things that you never would have really considered. It gives you a different perspective on life really. I have highlighted, underlined, annotated, and noted until I am blue in the face! One of the lines from The Color of Water that really caught my eye and made me think was this one on page 63, (I am using the e-Reader version on my iPad so my page numbers are different from that of the paperback book,) "Yet conflict was a part of our lives, written into our very faces, hands and arms, and to see how contradiction lived and survived in its own essence, we had to look no farther than our own mother," (McBride 63). I think this particular line stuck out to me so much because everyday I see how people are different, yet very much alike in multiple ways. This quote is saying that because the children were all half white half black, they were living conflict of the events going on during that time period. The line is also saying that because the mother is white but is married to a black man, she is a living contradiction within herself. Overall, I am really enjoying this book, a lot more than I thought I would to be completely honest. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, as long as they are mature enough to handle certain adult conflict within the book. I encourage you to look into The Color of Water. Bye bye for now!

 

Post #6

Hello everyone! I hope you've had a good week. As you know, I've been debating on whether or not to continue my reading of the Shack or stop and switch to another book. After reading about 2 more chapters and talking to my English teacher, I've decided to switch books. I'm torn between two books right now, Dolly by Dolly Parton (autobiography) or A Room Made of Windows (novel). If you have read either of these books please comment below and let me know what your opinion is on them. I'm leaning more towards the Dolly Parton autobiography because I absolutely adore Dolly Parton and I have from a very young age. I hope you have a great week and please comment! :) 

Post #5

Hello everyone! This is my fifth blog post so far and I think this whole thing is going good so far. As you know, I am reading The Shack. I have been quite busy this week, so I haven't been able to read as much as I would have liked to. As you may recall in my last post, I mentioned the plot starting off somewhat slow. So far, in the bit I have read this week, the plot is still just dragging along. I'm not sure if it is just me, or the book, or what, but things are still just moving very slow. I am the type of reader that has to be introduced to an exciting thing very early in the book, but that is just me. Some things in The Shack may be very interesting and exciting to others, but not me. I am having a very hard time staying interested in the book, I thought that I would really enjoy it from what I had heard from others, but I am not loving it. I am seriously considering just stopping my reading of the book and switching to something else. I feel that books are like clothes, you have to try them on to see if they will fit, and this book isn't fitting very well. I will keep you posted on my decision about switching books and what I am feeling towards The Shack within the next week. Thanks so much for reading! Have a good week everyone! :)

Post #4: The Shack So Far

Hello! Time for another post. I have been reading The Shack for about 4 or 5 days now and it is going a bit slow. It just seems as if not much has happened yet, but I must keep in mind that I am only a bit into the book so far. The main conflict hasn't yet been introduced from what I can tell and the overall book itself just isn't turning out to be how I thought. Again, I am only so far into the book so more is going to happen with the plot, but for now, I am not digging on this book as I thought I would. My English teacher said that it was a great book, and so did my dad, but I just can't see it yet. I asked my dad about it and he said that it seemed to start out slow to him as well, so I am glad I'm not the only one. I will keep the blog updated with my progress in the book and if things are picking up plot wise. If you have read The Shack please comment and let me know if it seemed to start off slow to you as well, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for reading and I will post soon! Toodles! :)

Post #3: Predictions about The Shack by William Paul Young & Why I Am Going to Read It

  The next book that I plan on reading is called The Shack by William Paul Young. From what I have heard, the book has to do with some murder and mystery which is right up my alley. I love all things creepy and weird. I'm not really sure what to expect but I am predicting that there will be some sort of major conflict that helps the main plot of the story to develop. I also think that there are going to be some flashbacks to before the murder.
  I have also heard that there is a strong father-daughter relationship present to this book and that is important to me on a personal level because I am very close to my dad. Overall. I am excited to get into this book and see what happens. I am going to read this book because it seems like something I would really enjoy and because this book has been recommended to me multiple times by many different people.  I will update my progress once a week with a brief summary of the chapters I have read and what not.
                                                                   

Review of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

   Recently it seems that every one is head over heels in love with the book, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I am one of those people obsessed with it. I have read it twice now and I am currently debating on reading it a third time. John Green is a very imaginative writer and that really shows in this book. In The Fault in Our Stars, Green writes about a type of medicine that stops tumor growth in cancer patients, but the catch is, this is not a real medicine. This is oneof the reasons why I love this book so much. It is so full of imagination and deep thought, it really does show.
   Another thing that really captured my attention in this book was the way Green worded his sentences. The wording was extremely intelligent for a young adult book, but at the same time it was on a level that teen readers could still understand. The tragic Romeo and Juliet type plot line is also something that really keeps the reader coming back for more in this book. Towards the end, something extremely tragic happens between the star crossed lovers, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. Every chapter seemed to end in a cliffhanger, which keeps you coming back for more no matter where you leave off. Over all, I give this book 5/5 stars. Everything about the book made me fall in love with it. The characters, the plot, the imagination, absolutely everything. I would recomend this book to anyone who loves a good comedy, love stroy, or tradgedy, because with The Fault in Our Stars, you really can't go wrong.

Interview with the author of The Fault in Our Stars, John Green.

 

The Fault in Our Stars book cover

 

NPR's Article on The Fault in Our Stars

Summer Reading Project 2014: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

   Over the summer, I read Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson for a school project. I was absolutely dreading reading it, but I actually enjoyed the book. Tiger Lily is a prequel to the beloved Disney movie, Peter Pan. In  Tiger Lily the main character is a girl that is native to Neverland named, Tiger Lily. Over the course of the book, Tiger Lily really learns to come out of her shell. In the beginning, she is the type of person who is extremely quiet, and keeps to herself for the most part. Throughout the book, Tiger Lily makes new friends and falls in love with Peter Pan. These events cause Tiger Lily to open herself up more as a person and show her feelings a bit more.
   In the beginning of the book, Tiger Lily only interacts with the people that she has to interact with, like her father, Tik Tok and her two best friends, Moonbeam and Pinesap. When Tiger Lily meets Peter she realizes that she needs to be a bit more outgoing towards people and she eventually ends up bring friends with all of the Lost Boys and falling in love with Peter. Tiger Lily's personality development is very important to the plot of the story because it shows how Tiger Lily gradually falls in love with Peter, which is one of the main happenings in Tiger Lily