Societal issues Blog #3

Overall, the Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time was really good. It reminded me a lot of this book my parents got me shortly after my brother was diagnosed with autism. The book was Rules and it was about a sister dealing with her little brother who had autism. That was the closest thing I had to a look into how the autistic mind works. This book has given me a even better look. I was actually really happy with the ending. I liked that everything worked out in the best way for Christopher. I was also amazed at the fact that he got an A on his math test. My favorite part was the ending. Christopher is so sure he can reach his goals. He has that " I can do anything" attitude that is so admirable. He went to London by himself, solved 2 mysteries, and wrote a book. That is really impressive for a kid like him. This was such a good book and made me feel so happy. 

Societal issues blog #2

My reoccurring reaction for the middle of Curious Incident is "I did not see that coming". First, I did not see his mom having an affair with Mr. Shears coming. That was really unexpected but not earth-shattering. I figured some sort of drama had occurred between the Shears and Boones, but I thought the father would have done it. The next thing that shocked me was how upset Christopher's father got when he saw the book. I was surprised that he would get so angry. I knew he gotten upset before but hitting your child like that is hard to imagine. The major big shock was finding out that Christopher's mother was still alive. That came out of nowhere. I really thought she was dead. I also can't believe his father would lie about that. It's one thing to say that they left and were not coming back. But to tell a child that their mother is dead is heartbreaking. Finally, I was really shocked to find out that Mr. Boone killed Wellington. And all because he had a fit of rage. It is crazy. I am really looking forward to how this book is going to end.

Societal Issues #1

I am reading the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I really like the book so far. There are many similarities between Christopher and my brother. Like Christopher, my brother is 15 years old and has autism. When I picture Christopher, I see my brother.  Which is kinda scary to imagine your brother holding a bloody dead dog. I like this book because it is a glimpse into a different way of thinking. I got really upset when the police officers didn't realize that Christopher had a mental disorder. You would think it would be obvious by the way he was acting, but apparently not. That part mad me really mad. Even more, when they took him to jail. Overall, I like the book though. I am really excited to read more.

Memoir Blog #3

I finally finished Come Back and it was a really touching book. The first few chapters were hard to read, but once I got past there the book had me hooked. I learned several things from this memoir. One thing I learned is no matter how awful you think your life is, it could always be worse. My life has been perfect compared to Mia's. I also learned that when everything else fails, love remains. Seeing how much Claire loved Mia, even when she was a complete mess, was so touching and reassuring. It showed that no matter how much we mess up, someone will still love us. The book's ending is so amazing. To see how far Mia's come in just a couple years is incredible. I was happy that she graduated out of the program and went on to college. It was also great to see the rebuilt mother-daughter relationship between Claire and Mia. My favorite character of the book was Sunny. She was always so light-hearted. And surprisingly enough, I did not see her being a Lesbian coming. And I love when she announces it in group. It was so funny how everyone was like " well we all knew that". And the way Sunny said it makes it that much better. This book actually transformed me a little. Reading through the seminars made me look at my own life. It also helped me to see what a large affect each individual person has on all the people around them.

Memoir Blog #2

I am on page 205 of Come Back. I really like how the book is co-written by Claire and Mia. The way they each tell their side of the story is really interesting. I like how Mia shares what she was thinking at the time. I also like Mia's tone. The way she talks is very entertaining. You can read the teenager in it. I also like Claire's writing. She adds a very paranoid, overprotective mother tone to the story. You can feel how scared she is and see the hurt in her life. I love this book. I am hooked. The first few chapters were hard to stomach. Listening to them talk about what happened to Mia as a child was a very hard. How anyone could do that to their own child is beyond me. Once Mia got to Morava, the book began to fly by. At first, I thought how could parents send their children to another country to this school. But I began to see the reasoning and the help the school provided the students. I am not sure how the memoir is going to end. I feel that Mia is going to recover and get better. But I am not entirely sure. It is going to be a very interesting journey to recovery though.

Memoir Blog #1

If I were to write my own memoir, I would focus try to focus less on my life and things about me. I would tell about recently losing my great uncle. I would also tell about my best friend having cancer. I would tell my perspective of what it's like when your life gets  turned upside down. People take so much for granted in life. We acknowledge that bad things such as death, HIV, and cancer exist. But we don't think they will affect our lives. If you had asked me 4 months ago, there was no way I would have thought that my best friend had lymphoma. I would tell my story. I would show how I coped when life got complicated. The main thing I would want people to get from my memoir is that nothing is set in stone. Life can change in a heartbeat. I would like people to understand this and learn to live for each day because no one knows what will happen tomorrow.

Escape Blog #3

Markus Zusak's The Book Thief might be one of the best books I have ever read. I was captivated by the story from the first chapter. It is unlike anything I have ever read before. I loved that the story was told from Death's perspective. All Death's side comments are intertwined into the story in a way that adds to the story instead of interrupting it.  The book ends in red. Death talks in the beginning about red. He basically tells the ending but without all the details. Like many other good books, The Book Thief ends when everyone you loved throughout the story dies. I had to resist crying. It is a miracle that anyone survived that bombing. I do wish that Zusak would have told the reader more about Liesel's life after Himmel Street. I want to know who she married, what became of Max, and what became of Molching. My favorite character of the entire book is Max. Something about his story and personality attracted me. I was so happy that he lived through the camp and was reunited with Liesel. I liked Max's opinion and outlook on the war. I also loved the stories he wrote for Liesel. I enjoyed reading about his boxing match with Hitler. Overall, this is a really good book. I feel that someone has to like character driven books in order to truly appreciate this story. But I loved this book. I really want to see the movie now.

Escape Blog #2

     I am on page 256 of The Book Thief . The main character is the book thief, Liesel Meminger. Liesel is 10 years old and lives in Nazi Germany.  Life is not easy for Liesel and her foster family.  Money is tight and with the war in full swing, happiness is dying out. Liesel soon discovers the joy of reading. Learning to read each night with her papa brings her joy. She soaks up each word she reads. For a time, life is okay for Liesel. Liesel's simple world becomes a lot more complicated when her family takes Max Vandenburg, a jew, into hiding in the basement. Liesel now has to carry a secret that means life or death for her family and Max. Liesel escapes this world of cruelty, hatred, and Hitler, in books. The words become her safe haven away from the world outside her front door. This book takes place in Nazi Germany, which is the perfect setting for this story. Words were feared in Nazi Germany because the could instill ideas of rebellion and resistance. Books were taken away and burned. Anything that could contain ideas against Hitler and the Nazi party was tossed into huge fires. This setting is the perfect place for a young girl to steal and find an escape in books.
     I absolutely love this book. It is such a great story. I have always had a particular liking for stories set in World War 2. The Book Thief is a completely different viewpoint than most WWII books. Most books focus on the Jewish side of the story. Very rarely do you find a story about a German. It is a nice turn of events. I  predict the novel will end with red. In the beginning, Death describes a scene of red. He talks about Liesel on the ground crying and how her house was turned to a pile of ruble. I feel that a lot of people very close to Liesel are going die. And I predict that I will cry.

Escape Blog #1

       It was April 20th, 2013. Everything seemed normal. I got up, got dressed, went to school, discussed the upcoming prom with my best friends. Everything seemed like a normal happy day. Little did I know almost every ounce of happiness i had was about to be sucked away with two simple words: " He's Dead". Death is something we all know will happen but don't want to think about. The death of my Uncle Larry shouldn't have been a surprise. He had been in that hospital for 2 years, couldn't move the left side of his body, and had 3 heart attacks already that year. I really do not know why it was such a shock when he died. But it shattered my world. No one could have predicted how much his death had crushed me. After recovering from the shock and total denial of his death, I was drained. All my energy was gone. My grades started to slip. I was sleep-walking through life. Every bit of happiness I would feel was gone in a heartbeat. Slowly I descended into the darkness of depression. The weight of guilt pulling me down deeper into the darkness. The voices inside my head would taunt me for hours with " You forgot about him. You forgot your dying uncle. You let him sit in that hospital and forgot about him." and they would laugh as I cried till my tears ran dry. I sat there, alone, in the darkness. waiting for some light or way out. I wanted to escape, to escape from life. There were times when I started packing a suitcase. I was going to just hop in my car and drive until i ran out of road or hit the ocean. But I could never bring myself to it. I found my escape somewhere else. Somewhere in the white space between the black lines of those bound pages, I discovered a sanctuary. I found my escape in books. I had always loved to read, but now I was reading to escape my life. I read to leave everything behind and become someone else for a few hours. It was soothing and calming. I would actually smile and laugh. I started to feel happy again. My soul was filled with a new life that was filled with the words of authors. Books became my candle in the darkness. The words filled my life with warmth and joy. Soon, I found the staircase out of the darkness. I started to climb and made my way back up to the warmth of sunshine and found joy in life again.