Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Summer Reading

Over the summer, you were asked to read at least two novels of your choice.

1) Briefly tell me what you read, including the titles and authors.
2) I want to know what you liked about the books, what you learned and, more importantly, what matters to you about the book's content? How does it resonate with you?
Please do not give me a summary; I care more about what you took away from the book.

*Make sure to adhere to proper conventions and proofread your response. If, for some reason, you did not read two novels, tell me about two novels you have read and enjoyed and answer the above.

25 comments:

  1. Over the very short summer I read The perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. In addition I also read The dog who could fly By Damien Lewis. One thing I really enjoyed from both books was the message and even though the books were on complete different topics the message was the same. Even in the hardest times were you think you'll never make it in life, or that your thinking your going to die. An the characters both came above what happens to them in there lives. It made me realize that these books were written based on true story and these stories are my inspiration to be a bigger better person. To rise above sadness and fear. That's something I will take away from these books.

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  2. This summer I read The Guest List by Fern Michaels along with Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. These two books have one thing in common that I truly admire. They are realistic, they are about situations that could easily be applied to someone's life.
    In The Guest List, one thing that I liked was that despite Abbey’s flaws, her dad loved her, she made friends and the plot of the story was a adventure! I learned that your past does not just go away, eventually it catches up and could turn your whole life upside down, again. The main character, Abbey, was born with a dark, purple birthmark that stretched across her face. Her mother hated her because of that single flaw yet she treated her other child like a princess. This mattered to me the most because the girl was smart, fun and had the best personality yet her appearance turned people away. Today, people live by that. Looks before personality. Well it should be the other way around where its personality before looks.
    From saving CeeCee Honeycutt, I liked how CeeCee took care of her crazed mother even after her father left the two of them. I learned that not all parents are saints. Some of them are absolutely crazy, but that doesn't keep you from loving them, even with their flaws. Sometimes parents just need a little help. The book went over a variety of struggles in the girls life, some worse than others. CeeCee is taken by her aunt to live in the south. There she is entertained by the women who seem to run the town. She may have lost one mother but gained a unforgettable about of new ones that cared and nurtured her back into a suitable life for a child. That is probably the most important thing in the book.

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  3. This summer I read two very inspirational books. The first book I read was The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I loved this book, I especially loved how the author pulled the reader into the book in a whole new way. Most books have a happy cheerful plot that ends in a happy ending and those are the books our society usually likes to read. Although The Fault in Our Stars was not one of these types of books, the plot still really pulled the reader in. Something about two cancer victims falling in love made me want to read the book because there was so much truth in the story. I learned about other people's lives and how many people can be affected by cancer and that I am not the only person who has been affected by this horrible sickness. The second book I read over the summer was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This was a very hard reader but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I loved how the story was told. Because it was not the main character who told the story, instead it was death. This took me quite a while to figure out while I was reading the book, but eventually I was able to gather enough evidence to support the fact that it was death telling the story. I was able to experience how people lived during the holocaust in a whole new set of eyes. The Jews were not the only people suffering from the holocaust, everyone was. Even the Germans, which really affected me. Both of these books were so different than one I would normally read and I am so happy I chose them to read over the summer.

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  4. Over the summer I read two book that canoes my point of view on both a very similar subject. I read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and If I Stay by Gayle Forman; both of these books seemed to play with the subject of life and death. In the book Thirteen Reasons Why, it explains the story of Hannah Baker after she has committed suicide through audiotapes. I especially enjoyed the book written by Jay Asher because he write the truth; that teens all around us are committing suicide for many different reasons. In the other book; If I Stay by Gayle Forman; it portrays a young girl in a battle for life situation. Throughout the novel Mia, the teen in critical condition, talks about what she will be leaving behind and what she would get if she chose to live or die. I really enjoyed If I Stay because it shows that even if most of your world gets turned upside down theres still something good to get out of life. Both of these books talked about nearly the same subject yet both separated when it came to the decision; I was really glad that I chose these two books for my summer reading.

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  5. This summer I read Maze Runner and Scorch Trials, both by James Dashner. These books were the first and second books in a series and carried out the same story. I was very inspired by the story and I learned a lot. It focused on honor, leadership, and doing the right thing. The main character, Thomas, is the "leader" of a group and he is forced to make quick decisions that sometime put the lives of everyone else in the group at risk. Thomas has a strong sense of whats right and strives to keep himself, and those in his group on the right track. This inspired me to do the right thing and encourage my friends and those around me to do so too. In many situations, I hope to be a leader like Thomas and guide others to the right thing.

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  6. This summer I read The Closer by Mariano Rivera with Wayne Coffe and Divergent by Veronica Roth. What I liked about The Closer is that it showed how Mariano overcame his challenges and he showed the way he solved them. Another thing I liked was how it involved baseball and the road leading up to when he got drafted by the Yankees. What I learned was to never give up on a dream or passion. The most important thing that resonates with me is to do everything possible to help accomplish a dream, and to persevere through the tough times.
    In Divergent I liked that the author portrayed that no matter what people will always judge you and be afraid of you just because you're different from the next person. Also it shows not to care about what everyone else thinks. What I learned is to be yourself and do what you want to do. What will resonate with me the most is to not to let others thoughts affect my actions or my personality.

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  8. Over the summer I read Eon by Allison Goodman and Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton.
    In Eon I really enjoyed the detail and description. I really felt like an entire world was created within my brain. There was a map in the beginning of the book really helped.
    I really connected to Eon for one reason which were the messages that were delivered to me. In the book, after years of training and some luck, a cripple named "Eon" became one of the most important people in the world.One of the biggest messages I received from this moment was that when you try your hardest and don't take quitting as an option, you can get yourself anywhere.
    In Tyger Tyger I really enjoyed the extensive background of the main character (Teagan Wylltson) and her family. It gave you a chance to attach yourself to the characters.
    What really ended up mattering to me was the character Aiden Wtllston. This character is a little boy that can get a little rowdy. The character just brought out some of the kid back out of me. Aiden doesn't make sense, spends days or short intense moments in his "passions", and uses "kid" logic.I just reminds me not to take the world so seriously and just be a kid for a little bit.

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  9. One book I read was called Moonglass. This book has impacted my life a lot. I couldn't take my head out of the book because of how the writer wrote it, and the content. One thing that really interests me when I'm reading and really draws me to a book is when the author's text is what I like. This book was about a girl who moved away from her home by the ocean where her mom had drowned and was forced to make a new life on this new beach where her dad and mom had met. At first she did not want to move there because how on earth could she leave her mom's body, but once she was there she started to make friends. But she still had that sensitive side where she would look at that person and think to herself, "Is this a kind of person that I would like to put my time into?" which is why I was so fascinated with her character. I am exactly like that, I am very sensitive to things I am not familiar with. I can really relate to this book because I have had a family member die and I know exactly how that character felt. It was like I was reading my own mind. Which actually challenged me a little bit. It was hard to read the book and not think about myself. I learned from this book that sometimes the people that you aren't letting into your life, can be the most important. After reading it, I really did enjoy the people around me.

    Another book I read, called Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer, by Katie Alender, also really impacted my life in a huge way. I really thought about the world and other places in another way. Before this book, countries were just places here. But they actually mean something to me now. So does life. Life is something to live, not watch. This book was full of suspense and I think of life that way too. You never know what could be coming around the corner. Which brings up the Arapahoe Shooting. No one ever knew that this was gonna happen. And every single person faced it differently. Although I wasn't there, I still lived through it too because my sister was there. It was such a suspensful time for me to wonder if my sister was alive or not. Life is something to take care of, not to damage. In the book it says, that the girl may not realize that she holds the key to her own mystery. I think that that applies to everyone. We all have something that we don't know is gonna happen, and our life could be in danger, but we might have the chance to stop it.

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  10. This summer I read Enders Game by Orson Scott Card and Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. These were both great books that I loved. I liked how in Ender was persistent. He looks at his goal and strives to achieve it. He practices and practices because he knows if he doesn't he wont become a military genius. This reinforces the saying practice makes perfect.
    Fallen Angels (my favorite of the two) Is great partly because the author was in the military and he knows how it feels coming back to the world. In this book it really tells the reader how it feels to be in the military and coming home with those memories. I really got out of the book that you need to respect the veterans and the military for what they go through.

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  11. I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. I thought that it was interesting how the book was told through Christopher's point of view, who has asperger syndrome. It's cool to see how he saw the world and analyzed things. I learned how people with asperger syndrome think and view things. What really stuck out to me was seeing how he worked through problems versus how I would.

    I also read Looking For Alaska by John Green. I thought it was interesting how instead of chapters, the book is told through days leading up to an event. The book was interesting in how it portrayed Miles' (Pudge) relationships and what strengthened them and what weakened them. His fascination with last words was interesting and in many ways added to the story. I learned that a "Great Perhaps" can come in many different forms and are never what we expect.

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  12. This summer I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. The thing that i liked about these books was that in The Lovely Bones is how much emotion was in the book and how Susie was very open about her murder and in the book Eclipse I just love the whole concept of vampires and werewolves and how they are against each other and how there are good and bad vampires and how it is almost like today were there are sometimes people watching what you do and if your doing it right.

    The the thing that I learned from The Lovely Bones is always be careful with who you are hanging out with and the decisions you make could lead up to something bad.Another thing i learned from Eclipse was that to be careful with love because it is a powerful thing and it can be a bad thing of you don't make decisions that will help you and make you better .

    What matters to me about the books that I read content is that it was thrilling and adventures and it had very detailed parts and while going through the book i had some questions and as i was reading on all of those questions were answered.

    Overall what i learned from the Lovely Bones is that make good decisions and make and keep good Friends.
    Eclipse I learned that meet the right people and make good decisions for the future.

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  13. During the summer I read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand. Jurassic Park was a great thriller with excitement at every turn of the page. I liked the way the author was able to portray multiple peoples lives at the same moment without sounding awkward or forced. I also noticed he used that as a tactic to leave a cliffhanger. Every time a chapter ended with someone's story, all I wanted to do was read the next three chapters so I could continue reading that story again. The scientific content was cutting edge and made sense the way they were growing dinosaurs the whole book kept me reading at every free moment.

    My second book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, is about the life of Louis Zamperini. Louis was a delinquent in his youth, but turned to running as a fix. After going to the Olympics, World War II broke out and Louis was an airman, He crashed his plane over the Pacific, survived 40 days on a raft, then another 3 years in Japanese POW camps. His story of bravery and survival was very inspirational. He beat the odds in the camps, where a 30% mortality rate was estimated. His years after the war also inspired thought about life and the pursuit of happiness in general. It showed that only you have the power to make yourself unhappy.

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  14. Over the summer I read the following two books. Michael Vey, Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans and the book The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore. What I truly loved more than liked about about the books was how they had lots of action and drama tied into them. Both books had lots of fighting and adventure to them which made me urge to keep on reading. I learned from the MIchael Vey book that you should never give up on friends, because they never give up on you. I learned that it was a very important life lesson I realized when reading the book. The Rise of Nine taught me that you should never give up no matter what the odds are, always have hope. I was taught that hope was a distraction in life and shouldn’t be messed with but, the book showed me why people have hope and it truly changed me on how I see other people and hope. The two books tie into me by them both showing me something more meanings in life and better ways to enjoy yourself. The action and drama in the books also keep me entertained through all the events I lure into. When I reached outside the book I saw that everyone lives up to their morals of the books and I think that I am one of those people.

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  15. Over the summer I read 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Small Steps by Louis Sachar. The things I liked most about in these books is that they both are about peoples lives and teaching people to not judge people because you never know what the inside of a person can hold. Ginny in Small Steps has Cerebral Palsy and loves music and holds more then just her disability, that is just a label she is more then everyone thinks she is. When Hannah commits suicide in 13 reasons why it really shows that your life can effect more people then you think. Also to me it shows that your words and actions can effect people more then you know.

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  16. Over the summer I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, as well as Divergent by Veronica Roth. These two books had practically polar opposite themes, as one was a summer romance story, while the other was a Utopian action novel. One thing that I really liked about The Last Song was that it was written 4 (it might actually be 5) different points of view. This was definitely a plus because you got to see what every character's life was like, and because the author didn't overlap events, it wasn't like I was reading the same thing twice, like some multiple point of view books are. What I liked about Divergent (besides that it was a great story in general), is that it had a great use of imagery and emotion. I'm going to tie the next two questions together, "what I learned" and "what matters most about the books content". What I learned and what mattered to me most, were both tied to the message. In "The Last Song" one of the messages I got out of it was to love others, and forgive others, because they won't be around forever. That message stuck close to my heart, and it is what I believed mattered most in the book. I felt the message from "Divergent" definitely was you don't have to be just one thing. You don’t just have to be selfless, or brave, or smart; you can be all of them, and use them to stand up for what is right. Both of these messages from these two books had a lasting impact on me, and although it sounds corny, remembering these important messages sometimes helps me make the decisions I do. I really enjoyed both of these books and felt that they both have great messages that will be beyond useful in life.

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  17. Over this summer I read The Crank Triolgy by Ellen Hopkins. The three books are Crank, Glass, and Fallout.What I deeply enjoyed about the books was the reality and the raw content. We are at an age were we now what is going on in the world and these books bring that to the light. I also the the charcters. The main character Kristina realy changes through out the first and second book. Her changes are negitive and postitive ways. This series shows how drugs can really effect a persons life and the harsh reality of abandonment. These books really kept me interest me by adding surprising twists. Also by having a real world problem and not being s cliche love story. The content provided was based of a real life experiance of the author and to me nothing is better than having that much emotion in a book.

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  18. Over the summer, I read the oh so lovely The Fault in our Stars by John Green; and The Afterlife by Gary Soto. I read The Fault in our Stars because everyone was raving about it because the movie was coming out. Before I read it, I thought it was going to be another cheesy romantic novel, but now I can see that the author adds interesting details that hook a reader no matter if they are allergic to romance. From this book, I really took away how some people with illnesses feel. In fact, I did some charity work after reading the book and raised money for kids who are sick. The Afterlife was a decent book also. When I was little, I thought when you died it was like you got to sit in a movie theater where a rerun of your life goes on, only this time you can really understand what emotions resonate off of everyone. This book, even though the theme may not be true, opened my eyes and made me really think about the hard topic of what happens after you die. I also realized that even though it really sounds repeated more than it should be, but you should always live life like it’s your last day and never leave angry or hurt. I hope to keep reading books that make me explore new ideas even if I don’t want to in the first place.

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  19. Over the summer I have read The Princess Bride by William Goldman and also read Into thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Into thin Air was a wonderful book that I would recommend to everyone. As The Princess Bride was very good as well. What I liked about Into Thin Air was how the characters were so focussed on there goal which was to reach the summit of Mount Everest. I took this and thought of the general idea of working hard to reach your goal. I am a person that is not good at this. I am typically a person who is pretty lazy and a good procrastinator. This year I hope to reach my goal this year which is to make the honor role. Into thin Air was a story of a group of people and there difficult journey to summit Mount Everest. The Princess Bride was a story about a farm boy and a rich girl in love, but the farm boy goes away to earn some money. While he is gone the king wants to marry buttercup but Wesley comes to her as a pirate and they go on an adventure to escape the king.

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  21. This summer I had read two books The house of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is the first I had read. The House of the scorpion is in the not so distant future where slaves are used to tend to heroin poppy field and people are cloned to give organs. The story follows a young slave named Matt who works for a 146 year old drug lord named El Patron. Matt is one day discovered to be a clone of El Patron and is going to be used to give El Patron new organs. I enjoyed this story because it's not a fantasy novel, It's dark and twisted but also real, even though there are clones in the story the realism takes that aspect off of your mind and lets you realize that this story is a lot alike on whats going on it's others states oversea. The drug lord El Patron is using slaves as workers and the clones to keep him alive. This story overall is incredibly deep and I highly recommend it.
    The other book I read was entertaining and easy going read. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan was the second book I read over the summer and while it is slightly childish it is still a very good book. The message I took away from the book is that you don't realize how important things are until they lose them. The two main protagonists of the story lost their father and they both didn't realize how much he did for them until he was dead.

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  22. During my summer break, I read Insurgent by Veronica Roth and The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. I read Insurgent because I had read the first book of the series, Divergent and I found it to be an excellent book and left me wanting more. This book is about several factions based on moral in at war with each other. This book revealed important unpredictable information that had to do with the last book. It was exciting yet not as structured and focused as I would have liked it to be, it seemed very all over the place and the main character's actions made me dislike her even more. At the end of the book I learned a valuable lesson too, that evil isn't something that can be caused by corrupt conditions, culture, or events; it can only be influenced by those things but the real source of evil is something that runs in the hearts of humans, and not specified ones but any. The Hiding Place was a very sad, emotional, and religious novel. It is about a women named Corrie who lives in a town in Holland where her family sells watches. Soon, WWII starts and before the entire country knows it, they are taken over by Nazi Germany. Jews are being forced into concentration camps and Corrie's family ends up helping out Jews and becomes very associated with the anti-Nazi underground. The religious aspects of this book were very inspiring to me. It was very sad but made bitter sweet by what they were able to accomplish. I enjoyed it very much and cherished all of this story. I took away from it that in even the worst darkness and sadness their is always hope to be found. Both of these books were enjoyable to read over the summer and like all books had valuable lessons within them.

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  24. Over the summer I read Divergent by, Veronica Roth and I read Eragon by, Christopher Paolini. What I understood from the book Divergent is the government was trying to create a Utopian society by splitting every body up in the 6 factions according to the person. What I liked about this book is it always kept you wondering like why is being divergent dangerous and things like that. What I understood from Eragon is magic, mystery, wounder, and amazement. What I liked about it is the simple creativity the magic and the ideas like when the rider dies so does the dragon but not the other way around. What I learned from the book divergent is that Utopian society's are never perfect. Utopian society's only seem perfect from the outside and on the inside there corrupt because nothing could ever be perfect even things that look like they are like art or architecture on buildings even butterfly's aren't perfect.

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  25. Over the summer I read The Finest Hours, by Michael J Tougias, a true story that contained the recollection of a few who saved a great number. From this I took away that even if you save many you will always think about the ones that "slipped through the cracks", and some find continuing on is too great a burden for them. The crew that this book is about saved 32 men on their boat build for 8 counting the four person crew but one man was not able to make it on the boat. I really took this book to heart because I have family in the Coast Guard and have put some thought towards joining my self, and just reading about the impact these men made in the community is astonishing. I also read Navigating Early written by Clare Vanderpool, I really liked how the author gives you bits of the story here and there that you think may be insignificant only to put all of them together where they finally click at the end. This book made me think about how I have unfairly judged people in the past and really want to change that as I entered a new school. I also felt that in a sense I could connect to how Early sees numbers, when he looks a the numbers in pi he sees a story and that reminded me of how I learned to do math, I always saw numbers as colors and I would combine the colors to equal another and that would be my answer. I really enjoyed both of these books, the first for its dose of reality, and the second for its many messages it sends such as don't judge others unfairly and everything will come together in due time.

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