Post 3 Book 1 Project: The Fault in Our Stars

Book 1 Project: The Fault in Our Stars

            We are inviting you to come and participate in our super fun 5k!!! We will offer free tee shirts and wrist bands to help fund the dreams of people with cancer. There will be live music and confetti at the finish line!!! It will be a blast!!!! All of the proceeds will go to people with cancer, to help make their wishes come true.

This is sort of what the 3K will look like with the confetti
although it will be blue and yellow like the book cover.    

            While you are running/walking the race, we will have a special part of Augustus and Hazel’s, the main characters, journey together. This will motivate you and help you feel more connected to Hazel and Augustus. At the 1K, you will go through a simulation of what the support group looked like. This is where Hazel and Augustus first met, so it is very symbolic. At the 2K there will be copies of the book that Hazel and Augustus loved so much and bonded over. As Hazel said, “And then there are books like An Imperial Affliction, which you can’t tell anybody about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like betrayal.” At the 3K, you will run through confetti, similar to what Hazel and Augustus experienced when dining in Amsterdam. They thought the experience was truly magically and we believe you will love it too! At the 4K, you will go through a tunnel like room that looks like Anne Frank’s. Anne Frank’s house was where Augustus and Hazel shared their first kiss. Lastly, at the 5K, there will simply be a celebration to be thankful for life because as you know from reading The Fault in Our Stars, life is unpredictable and we shouldn’t take it for granted.

            In The Fault in Our Star, Augustus and Hazel, have cancer. Hazel’s family struggles with paying for the finances because she has had cancer for several years. Since money is tight, it almost stops her from having her dream come true. Her dream is to meet the author of An Imperial Affliction, a book she loves. Thankfully Augustus, who has Osteosarcoma, gets to make a wish and have it granted by “The Genies”. Augustus wishes to go meet the author of the book because he’s in love Hazel. He says to Hazel, “Now I’m not going to give you my Wish or anything. But I also have an interest in meeting Peter Van Houten, and it wouldn’t make sense to meet him without the girl who introduced me to his book.” Although their trip doesn’t turn out the way they thought it would and the author was a letdown, they still got to spend time with each other in another country and they go to see other famous things in Amsterdam, like Anne Frank’s house. As you can see, just funding someone else’s dying wish can impact them so much more than you may think. This trip meant everything to Hazel and Augustus. Hazel says, “Augustus Waters was the great star-crossed love of my life. Ours was an epic love story…” I believe she says this to remind us how precious life is and how quickly it can disappear which is why we have a celebration at the 5K.

            Unlike Hazel and Augustus, many people with cancer do not get their wishes grant. Many people die with a dream that never came true. You can help though!! By simply signing up for this 5k, you will be helping these people’s dreams come true. This 5k will allow the fans of The Fault in our Stars feel more connected to Hazel and Augustus as well as contribute to a worthy cause that I’m sure they would have also supported. You will feel more connected because it is an easy way to give back to your community and support cancer patients’ battles.

            I believe this idea will work to give fans an opportunity to connect because it basically will follow the plot line of the book. It can make them feel closer to Hazel and Augustus. Also, this 5K will use some of the main symbols in the book and portray Augustus and Hazel’s view on everything. This 5K will help fans and let them feel what Hazel and Augustus felt.

Post 4: The Fault in Our Stars

I read the Fault in Our Stars by John Green for my Book 1. I think i finished it in two days. It was amazing!!! The plot was sad but it wasn't in a bad kind of way. I think it was more in the way of giving you a new perspective but through tragedy. I loved the book because there weren't really any slow part, which was great because sometimes I get bored with books. Also, it went right to the story and didn't begin by just describing everything in sight. It kind of described each thing as Hazel, the main character, went through them. It made you feel like you were actually going through them because there would be surprises. The Book exceeded my expectations because I thought the plot would be predictable, but it wasn't. Not at all. There were twists and turns and it always keep me interested. I think the book was really good and would recommend it to almost anyone.

Post 2: What is a Book?

A book...when I think of a book I think of a real book. Not some Kindle or Ipad but the true book—made out of paper and all. I think a real hardback book is more of a sentimental thing. I believe people who have grown up only reading on Kindles and Ipads wouldn’t really understand why those of us who read paper books enjoy them so much. Because of this I think a book is like an old picture from your childhood. The picture probably is not that interesting to someone else outside you, or maybe your mom, but to you it brings memories of some of your best experience, such as birthdays or first days of school. The paper book may not seem that interesting to someone who reads eBooks but to you, the true flipping of a pages and smell of the book mean something. Real books remind me of warm, fluffy blankets and just curling up in the winter time. I think I feel more happy reading a paper book rather than on my Kindle because of this.

I agree with Nancy Jo Sales because her opinion is that, “There is something about the physicality of book, the way it looks and feels and even smells—the notes in the margins—that’s what makes it a living, breathing companion.” I think Sales is saying that just holding the book makes the reading experience better. You feel like the book is a “friend”. I completely agree with this because when you open up a book and see the little comments people have made and feel the paper, it makes the book that much more magical.

Victor LaValle says that treating a book like something special is ridiculous and unnecessary. He says, “Now you hold that essence [of the book] in your hands! And other melodramatic nonsense. It all strikes me as a pretty Old Testament way of thinking.” I don’t agree with any of this. I believe what LaValle is arguing isn’t valid because I think that peoples experiences with book make the book special. And then when you pass that book on to someone else to read, the get to share that special experience with you and the book. I think it does matter what you read on because you will have a different experience whether you are reading on a device or a real book.

Post 1: Why I Read

           Why do I read? I think this is a question that is like many other question-why we run, why we practice an instrument, or why we exercise. The answer will vary depending the person. Some people who don't like reading may find this question ridiculous. I do like to read but when asked this question I had to think about it because you don't really think about why you like something. You just know that you enjoy it so it’s just another thing you do. I read mainly because reading opens your mind to an entirely different world. You can see others people, or characters, situations and lives and it can make you feel like you are actually part of their journey. If you are having a bad day, instead of mindlessly watching TV, if you pick up a book and read, you will be getting a lot more out of it. You will be learning new vocabulary and writing techniques, and you will help increase your level of comprehension of different texts rather than rotting your brain with TV. I think it’s great that we have so many different types of books available to us because in different cities they may not have nice public and school libraries or so many book stores nearby. I think that we should support libraries and book stores by just reading a little more each day.

This the book I'm reading:

Final Blog Assessment

The quality of my writing has grown over the course of this trimester. This is demonstrated in several ways throughout my blog. One way is that in the beginning my blog posts were very short, usually one paragraph long. You can see in my first blog post that I never elaborated on anything, I simple got the point across. In my later blog post, you can see how I have multiple paragraphs and I clearly explain each topic that I bring up. In blue, I highlighted an explanation of a quote in my first post versus an explanation in my later post to prove this.  Another way that I’ve grown is that in the beginning, I didn’t use other elements besides just words to help support my writing. I didn’t use a fun font, hyperlinks, or embed the pictures/videos in the post. I placed the pictures after so this didn’t help the reader understand what I was talking about. Lastly, in my first post, I had several grammatical errors because I didn’t use spell check or bother to go back and reread what I had written. In the recent post I double-checked what I wrote and used spell check to help me. I have highlighted examples of poor grammar in my first post in red and there were no grammar errors in the more recent post. From the examples I just pointed out, you can tell that I have grown as a writer throughout this trimester.

            One thing that I struggled with through the experience was coming up with topics to blog about. Once I came up with a topic I was able to write a post that was well written and creative but I often go stuck on what to write about. I overcame this by looking at other people’s blogs to get inspiration of what to write about. A strength that I had with blogging was I used a lot of hyperlinks, pictures, videos, and fonts to enhance my writing as well as the readers’ comprehension of what I was writing about. I haven’t met my reading goal yet. I need to read one more book. I used goodreads.com to help me find book to read because sometimes after I finish a book then I have trouble trying to find a new one to read. I have improved as a reader throughout the trimester because I have read more of a variety of books instead of continuously reading the same genre. Overall, I think the blog has helped me grow both as a reader and a writer.

Along for the Ride

I just started reading Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. Just from my first impression, it seems like a good book but I feel like it is going a little predictable. So far, it's about a girl named Auden who lives with her mom. Her dad just got married to a women who's about 20 years younger than him and had a new baby. Auden wants to visit her dad this summer because she will be going to college in the fall and she feels like it's her last chance to get to know her dad. When she arrives, she finds a small beach town filled with mostly tourists. The whole situation is so different than what she's used to. There is always a crying baby, her dad only cared about his work, and her new step mom is alway emotional and whinny. All of this causes Auden to explore the town. She eventually gets a job at her step mom's boutique as an accoutant. This is the only thing that makes her feel comfortable because the answers are always black and white. Back at home, she has devoted her whole life to academics so isn't used to people or friends or emotions.


I think it's really weird that Auden has never really done any of the things that we do as kids and just think its part of your childhood. For example, Auden has never riden a bike or had a boyfriend and she's 18. I'm assuming that the title Along for the Ride comes from Auden nevering riding a bike. Especially since she just meet a boy who used to race dirt bikes. Well...I guess I will just keep reading the book to find out.

Romeo and Juliet

     In English we are reading Romeo and Juliet (as you may already known) and we learned that it is almost an exact copy of a poem written by Arthur Brooks in the 1500's. I thought that since Romeo and Juliet was written after the poem version, it would be better. For example, I thought the play would have a more believable plot line and more description of characters but I was wrong. I think that the poem was written in a way that made it seem much more real.  The characters actually knew each other for long than a minute before falling in love in the poem.

    I think it's kind of weird that though the poem and the play are almost exactly the same, and Arthur Brooks was the one who actually came up with the idea, that Shakespeare gets credit. I mean, he is told to be one of the greatest playwrights and he can't even come up wiith the idea for one of his best plays! Hopefully he actually thought of the ideas behind all his other plays.

Romeo and Juliet

We read Act 1 Scene 5 in class last week and we watched two movie versions of it. I think that with each interpretation of this scene the director uses a little bit of a different tone. For example, in the older version of the movie, it seems more serious because Romeo and Juliet are at a party with adults and there is more conversation rather than flirting. In the newer movie version, there is a lot of dancing and flirting amongst the characters. The tone seems lighter because of this. I understood both of the movie versions and the actual play pretty well because the plot was relatively simple and the language wasn't too challenging.

Basically all that happened was Juliet's family had a large mask party and Romeo went to see the girl he love (Rosaline). When he got there, he immediately saw Juliet and fell in love with her beauty. They talk for like a minute and then just start kissing, which is really weird. This is all happening while Paris, the man who is supposed marry Juliet, is "wooing" her. Weird. Romeo claims he is in love with Juliet but I don't understand how they can be in love after meeting each other for just a brief moment. I think they are in love with the way the other one appears rather than the actually person and their character. I think that within the next few scene Romeo and Juliet will actually fall in LOVE not in lust, though.

A lot of the language was very cheesy although I could understand it. For example, the entire time that Paris was trying to "woo" Juliet he was making really weird references. Also when Romeo was talking to Juliet he was really cheesy and was comparing them to pilgrims and such which was odd. I guess this was just how it was back then.

 

 

 

Newer Movie Version

Recommendations?

I've been posting about Breaking Night a lot but I finally finished it last night. It had a really good ending but was a little vague. I won't spoil the book for you because it was really good. I think you guys should read it but just to warn you the book is sort of long. Anyways, now I don't have a book to read so any recommendations?

Breaking Night

The chapter's in Breaking Night are really long so a lot can happen within them. In this chapter, Lizzy was actually taken away from her father to go be rehabilitated in a place called St. Anne's. It was really sad but predictable. You could tell that their lives were falling apart. She struggles to fit in at St. Anne's. The girls blame everything on her since she was new but lucky she made a friend.

After she made it out, she went to live with her mother and her mother boyfriend, Brick. Lizzy had to go to school everyday and not get into any trouble. She didn't feel like she fit in here either until she meet a girl name Sam who brought her into her group of friends. Within this circle of friends, Lizzy meets a guy named Carlos who she falls in love with. When Brick kicks Lizzy out, Carlos watches out for Lizzy and they become so close that they get married. They are homeless so Carlos just starts phasing in and out of Lizzy's life. At one point, he is gone so long that Lizzy doesn't think he's coming back. I think he will come back because they used to be really close. Hopefully they will be able to rebuild their relationship so that they can be a team again!!!

The Chronicle

I don't know if you guys read the part on freshman opinions on homecoming in the chronicle, but I briefly did and thought it was interest to see all the rumors we had heard. I knew of pretty much all the things the freshman said they thought homecoming was going to be like so I was wondering if they were true. If you went to homecoming this weekend, you would probably agree with most of the rumors. One that I definitely agreed with was that homecoming was really fun but got really sweaty. This was completely true!!! With everyone dancing it made it a lot of fun but everyone was sweating so it was gross. I think it cool that The Chronicle interview all those freshman because it related to so many kids at MHS. I really glad that we have such a well put together school paper.

The Help

I read a book recently called The Help. It was about a woman named Aibileen who lived in the South at a time where African-Americans weren't treated equally. The book is basically about her job. She was the "help" or the maid for a rich white family. The book just describes all the struggles she had to deal with. Whether it was money, racism, or trying to find a way to work, Aibileen never had it easy. For a complete summary click here.

Although Aibileen had a really tough life, she was never angry or pitied herself. I think this is very admirable because if we even had the slightest problem like too much homework or not having the newest name brand thing, we complain. I really liked the perspective that Aibileen had on life. I think we could all learn a lot from it. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it was really long so it took awhile to read but it was worth it.

I would give this book 4/5 stars for these reasons. I recommend it to any teenager or young adult because you can learn a lot from it but some of the topics were too mature for younger kids. I hope you like this book!!!

Breaking Night Predictions

I just read another event-filled chapter in my book that change the entire layout of it! Lizzy's mother met someone else and decided to move in with him. She justified her decision by saying that she wanted to get off drugs and she couldn't be around them so she had to move out. Brick is the man who Lizzy's mother lives with. Lizzy had met Brick before her mom moved out, at a gallery. She felt very traitorous that she had met this man while her dad was at home oblivious to what was going on. Their whole family was already spread thin but this seems to have completely pulled them apart. Also, Lisa, Lizzy's sister, moved out because she wanted to live somewhere nicer with more normal family dynamics.


I think it was hard that both Lisa and her mom moved out because she describes herself being very lonely and just waiting around for her mother to return for her. Lizzy would wear her mother's clothes and watch the TV shows her mother liked to watch to feel comforted. The mood of the book at this point is a little nostalgic because Lizzy is reminising about her mom even if all of her memories weren't the best. I feel very bad for her because her dad is also very lonely and doesn't really talk to her so it's like she's isolated. I think that eventually Lizzy will move in with her mom based off how she feels at this point but I don't know if that would make things any better because then her dad would be all alone. Hopefully things will all work themselves out!!!

Breaking Night Character Post

Lizzy has changed a lot throughout this book. In the beginning, she seemed very helpless and just accepted the way things were. She thought it was normal to always be hungry and to have parents who did drugs. She skipped school whenever she wanted because she didn't really think it would affect her or her family. This all began to change as she grew older. When she got her first "job" as mentioned in the theme post I believe is where Lizzy first starts to have other thoughts of what her future can be. Also, after a social worker comes and visits her house and sees the awful conditions she is living in and threatens to remove Lizzy and her sister from their mother, I think it makes Lizzy a lot more mature. This is because she has to start cleaning her house, going to school, and have basic responsibilities instead of just having a free-for-all lifestyle. You can really see her character develop. She goes for an unruly, dirty little girl with no future to someone who's trying to make a change in the outcome of her life. She is definitely a dynamic character because of this. Lizzy is also a round character because you can see her go from angry, to regretful, to proud so you see all her sides. I really like how the author develops Lizzy's character by putting her through events that shape who she is. For example, at one point, Lizzy had the opportunity to move out of her house to go live with her mother, sister, and mother's boy friend but she chose not immediately to because she was very loyal and didn't think it was right. Even if it may have been easier or lead to a better lifestyle she chose to stick with her dad.

Both of Lizzy's parents also change a lot but they are on more of a roller coaster than Lizzy. This is because at one point in the book her mom will be the responsible parent who is always making money stretch and helping Lizzy through life but then all of a sudden her mom will get taken away to be treated for her problem and her dad will take that roll. When both of her parents are taking care of her, neither of them seem to really care about Lizzy and her sister.

Breaking Night-Setting

When I first picked up this book to start reading it I thought the setting would be described the typical way: mostly all at the begining and not overly graphic (if it was a bad situation) but this book was different. It describes the character and their setting almost every chapter which may seem boring but it was done in a way where it added to the realness of the situation. It actually makes you feel like you can see what they're living in and feel their constant hunger and pain. I feel like the author is actually taking us through Lizzy's life because you feel emotions for her. This is probably because her life was a lot like Lizzy's. I pity Lizzy because of the way the author describe her appearance. "I saw myself doubled over toilets even dirtier than my own at home, blackened along the edges, slimy and slippery. Large, evil-looking girls, stood behind me to supervise." This is what Lizzy is told she will have to live in if she and her sister don't fix up there own home and start attending school. From this quote I can picture a homeless shelter or orphanage very well so I think the author did a good job with describing the situation.

Theme of Breaking Night

The theme of Breaking Night is that one can chose their future and its not already set in stone. I realize this when I was reading the book and the main character Lizzy thought, "What else wasn't set in stone? I wonder what other opportunities there were out there for me." This was just after she had gotten her first "job" (because her parents didn't provide for her) and realized she didn't have to always be hungry. She could be different than her family. She didn't have to live from pay check to pay check in a small dirty house. She could save her own money and make a better life for herself. I think that it is amazing that understand this at 9-years-old with barely any education because most kids don't even think about their future at 9. This theme is very applicable to life because a lot of times people think they have to live a certain way or do as their parents do but they don't. Somethings may just be fate but there are many decision you can make to affect what will happen either positively or negatively.

The theme of this book was introduced oddly early because usually you don't really see the full theme until much later in the book. It was nice introduce it early but now it feels like you sort of can predict the rest of the book. The setting has really helped to enhance the theme, though, because every few pages Lizzy talks about her "agonizing hunger" and how filthy and poor she was. The way they describe her house and neighborhood gets you out of the typical setting for a book so it really helps to show how shes going to change her future to get out of all of it.

I found this famous poem by Robert Frost about choosing your future because I thought it had a similar theme to the book with the way they are both saying how you can choose your path that leads to your future.

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost 1874–1963 Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Breaking Night

I didn't really like the last chapter I read; it was pretty depressing. Lizzy's mom keeps having mental break downs and is suffering from insomnia. Her mom has been in and out of the mental institutes for over a year. This is wearing Lizzy out. I feel really bad for her to constantly have her mother in her life one moment and out the next. I can completely see how it would be hard to live with this let alone try to keep up with school. Luckily, it is sort of working out in Lizzy's favor though. Even though her dad is the only one raising her currently her life is a lot easier in some ways. She gets at least one full meal each day and her dad is semi-sober. Also he isn't running in and out of her life constantly like her was when her parents raised her together.

After a while of Lizzy's mom being in and out of her life, she finally is sober enough to stay out of the institutes for a while. Unfortunately, this is only stressing everyone out even more. Her mom and dad keep arguing and Lizzy feels very disconnected from them. She mentions several times how she almost hopes her mom will have another break down so her life will be more stable. I hope her parents will work it out so she can live a more normal childhood and just be a kid!

Book/Movie Connection

The book I'm currently reading, Breaking Night by Liz Murray, is about a girl named Lizzy who essentially goes from rags to riches. When she is born, she lives in the Bronx with her mom who does drugs and her father is in jail for illegal drug trade. Her life hasn't been good so far. She is a people pleaser because she just wants to get some attention from her parents. To please her dad she will play with cars and trucks and won't wear dresses. To please her mother she always helps her with the little chores and requests; and to please her grandmother, she listen to all her stories about the Bible and God.

Though I haven't gotten very far in this book, it reminds me a lot of the movie "The Blindside." This is because "The Blindside" also has a rags to riches type plot. Michael, the main character in "The Blindside" grows up in a poor part of town with a mother who was a drug addict and no father. Lizzy grows up in the same situation. They both end up going to good colleges and being successful in life but it requires a lot of hard work and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

This video clip is from "The Blindside". It is showing the moment where Michael gets his opportunity for success.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

The theme of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews, is that you may affect people's lives in a way you didn't even know you were doing. This theme develops a lot of depth in this book when the main character , Greg, helps cheer a Rachel, a girl with leukemia. Rachel's friend Madison thanks Greg for always making Rachel laugh and letting Rachel see the movies Greg made. Greg doesn't realize these small kindness acts have been helping to keep Rachel alive so when Madison tells him he keeps denying it. Proof of this is when Greg says, "They can't have made her that happy." And Madison replies," Greg, shut up. I know you have issues with being complimented. Just take a compliment for once, because it's true." This quote shows how Greg didn't even realize his effect on Rachel even though it was huge.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Article