Weekly Blog 12/15/14

The Fault In Our Stars
By: John Green
Pages: 1-13
Prompt:
-Summarize what you just read
-What does this book remind you of?
-Do you like what you are reading? Why or why not?

       
            So far what I have read is that there is a girl named Hazel. She is 16 years old and has Thyroid with mets in her lungs. All she wants to do is stay home and watch America's Next Top Model, but her mom sends her to a weekly support group. She states that all of the meetings begin the same way and that the meetings are depressing. They meet in a basement of an Episcopal church. She is friends with a boy there named Isaac. They communicate with each other through signs as the meeting is going on. One day she sees a new boy there and they seem to notice each other very well because that new boy kept on staring at Hazel. Later on, they talk with each other. And that is where I stopped reading.

           This book reminds me of a group that I go to for children/teens that are deaf or are hard of hearing. We only meet once every other month. We don't exactly have a schedule. We do something like what Hazel's group does. We first say our name, our grade, and something we like to do. Some people use sign language and some people talk. I have a couple of friends from there that are completely deaf. Since they use sign language, they teach me a little bit every time we get together.

            I like what I am reading because so far I really like the way it is written. I like the way it is written because it has a good word choice and I like the dialogue. I also like the perspective it is written from. I like the point of view is it written from because it is written from a girls point of view and I will be able to relate to that. I have also heard good things about this book and so far some of the good things that I have heard about the book are true.

Weekly Blog 12/8/14

Sold
By: Patricia McCormick
Pages: 170-225
Prompt:
-After reading I wonder...
-What ideas do you have about what is going to happen? What clues have you read to give you those ideas?
-Would you recommend this book to friends? Why or why not?


         After reading I wonder why the author chose to write about this topic. I also wonder where the author got her inspiration to write this book. I also wonder if the main character in the book will ever buy tea from the boy sells it. I also wonder how the main character in the book is able to survive in a place like that. I also wonder how scared she must be. Another thing that I wonder is if Mumtaz(the main business owner) feels any sympathy for the girls that work for her.

         Some ideas that I have of what is going to happen is that someone is going to get Lakshmi(main character) out of that place. I think that because in the story it said that a man had came, asked her how old she was, and didn't do anything with her. I also think this is going to happen because the man also gave Lakshmi a card with his information on it. Another thing that leads me to believe that Lakshmi will get out of there is the fact that the police recently broke into the house and took a girl. I am not sure if they did something bad to her or if they took her to a safer, better place.

         I would recommend this book to friends because it is a very good book. It is definitely on a more mature subject, but nothing that I don't think they wouldn't be able to handle. This book is also very interesting and is like a diary that she writes in of everything that happens within that day. If you are the kind of person that likes reading diaries or journals, I would really recommend this book to you.

Weekly Blog 12/1/14

Sold
By: Patricia McCormick
Pages: 1-170
Prompt:
-Summarize what you just read
-Tell me about the main character. What kind of person is he/she?
-What emotions did you feel while you read? Give details from your reading
that made you feel that way.
WARNING: MIGHT SPOIL BOOK

          This book is about Lakshmi a 13 year old girl that lives with her poor family. One day she is told by her stepfather that she has to go work as a maid in the city and she agrees. She will send the money she earns home to her family. Her father takes her to a shop and there is a lady there that will take her into the city to work. That lady sends her off with another man that takes her into the city. That man then leaves her to work with another lady. Lakshmi thinks that she will be cooking and cleaning for the lady. She could never be more wrong. The place that she had to work at had several small rooms which girls would be in. Men would then come and ask for a room. Then they would do whatever they wanted with the girls. Lakshmi refused to do that and was punished for refusing by the owner of the business. She had to work there until she could pay off her family's debt.

        The main character Lakshmi is a 13 year old girl. She is hard working and very smart. I know that she is hard working because, when she was at home she would be able to carry her little brother on her back in a basket and still do her chores. I don't think I would be able to do that. I know she is very smart because since she was poor, she learned ways to trick her stomach into thinking it was full whenever she was starving. That helped her when she was being punished by the owner of the business where she worked. She also learned to tune out all of the noises that were in the place where she was to work.

       Some of the emotions that I felt while I was reading this story is hate, injustice, and disgust. I felt hate throughout reading this story because I hate the fact that this little "company" or "business" is using girls. I also hate the owner Mumtaz. Mumtaz is taking these little girls for granted. They are still young and not even old enough to drive a car these days. I also felt injustice because how would Mumtaz feel if they did this to her? I don't think she would like it one bit. How would Mumtaz feel if she was punished for fighting back? I don't think Mumtaz would ever have the ability to survive in a place like that, unlike Lakshmi who is being smart about it and looking for any way possible to get out of there. I also felt disgust because overall I think that the whole business they are running is disgusting. It is not pleasant for something like that to happen and I'm pretty sure that it is not very sanitary either.

     Even though this book makes me feel negative things, it is still a really good book that I recommend people to read.