Blog for 1/12/15

Go Ask Alice By Anonymous 

Prompt: Summarize what you read today.    
Pages Read: 0-58

"Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous is diary of an actual 15 year old girl who got into drugs. She was a really good student, she had honors and her parents were really proud of her. Until one day they had to move houses. Everything changed for her.. new home, new school, and new friends. When school was finally over she went to spend the summer with her grandma and while she was there she got invited to a party. At the party she was served a coke which had LSD in it. Everything changed for her.

In the book "Go Ask Alice" from pages 0 to 58 it talked about how Alice is slowing become more and more addicted to the drugs. On page 31 it talked about how she got invited to a party. During that party they played a game and they gave everyone a coke. She got a coke too but what she didn't know was that 10 out of the 14 cokes had LSD in them. Alice had no idea. After she had her first try of drugs her curiosity overcame her. She began so get curious of how the other drugs tasted. Then she tried acid, speed, and she even smoked pot. Over what I have read so far it shows Alice is slowly becoming more addicted to drugs.

She is also taking drugs as a part of her everyday life. Her friend Chris gave her a drug pill in shape of a heart. She said to take them when she is depressed or feeling sad. Alice is slowing become addicted to those because she takes them everyday so that she could have enough energy for the whole day. Then at night she takes tranquilizers and sleeping pills. She is slowing becoming more and more addicted to the drugs.
(I know I never mentioned the name of the girl in the book and it is because it never mentions it in the book)

Life Reflection

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

          The last time I did something for the first time was go ice skating and riding in zero gravity. I had never gone ice skating before. Over winter break me and my family took a trip to Navy Pier's Winter Wonderfest. I had never gone there before. So it was a whole new experience for me. The experience was really cool. I got to go on all different rides. The best ones were ice skating and "Riding Zero Gravity".
          I had never gone ice skating before so ice skating was a whole new experience. I had no experience on how to ice skate. So that made it difficult for me because I was/am a beginner. I thought ice skating was gonna be easy because a lot of people made it look easy. I was way wrong. When I entered the skate ring I almost slipped right away. I had no balance with me and I had no experience. I began to skate around the edge of the ring, then after I while I got the hang of it... sort of. The truth is skating is way more difficult than it looks.

          Ice skating also left me with a memory.... burned skin. When I got the ice skating shoes I don't know what it had on the inside but when I began to ice skate the shoe kept rubbing against my skin. In result of rubbing against my skin repetitively it caused it to burn my skin... badly. I have had this burn ever since I went ice skating and I currently still have it.   

          A whole new experience for me was riding in zero gravity. I had never done that before. In Navy Pier's Winter Wonderfest they had a ride called "Riding Zero Gravity." The title itself seems tempting. The line to the ride was only 10 min because a lot of people wanted to ride it. On the ride you couldn't sit down you had to stand up. The only security you got was a loose belt. Which made me doubt the ride. When the ride began it was only spinning in circles then it began to get really fast then the ride got into a vertical position. You could see all the people in line including most of the Wonderfest. During the ride you could not move at all. If you tried to move your head it would get pushed back. "Riding Zero Gravity" and ice skating were two whole new experiences for me.

Blog for 1/8/15

The Maze Runner By James Dashner

Prompt: Does the title fit the story? Why or why not?

Pages Read: 63-end

The Maze Runner is the story of Thomas and how he manages to survive the maze. Thomas wakes up one day in a box with no memory. He has no memory of his past, why he is there and who he actually is. All he can remember is his name. When people come and take him out of the box he begins to be disturbed and pushed around. When Alby (leader) shows Thomas around he tells him about all the jobs there are, the different places, and the maze. Alby tells him about being a Runner and suddenly curiosity takes over Thomas and he has the urge to become a Runner... and that 's how it all began.

          The title fits the story perfectly. Once Thomas arrives and learns about the Glade(setting) and the maze he has the urge to become a Runner. A Runner is a person who enters the maze to try to find an exit. One of the rules of the Glade is to not enter the maze if you are not a runner. Thomas broke the rule just to save the lives of Alby and Minho(Keeper). After that he spent the whole night in the maze and survived. No one had every survived a whole night there and Thomas proved them wrong. After saving the lives of Alby and Minho he got elected as a runner.

          Thomas got elected as a Runner. A Runner is a person who runs in the maze. Maze Runner fits the story perfectly. The Maze Runner is a really good book to read. The story is in third person point of view. It is a really interesting book to read. Once you began to read it, it catches your interest really fast. I would also recommend reading the movie.

Blog of 12/15/14

The Maze Runner By James Dashner

Prompt: List the personality characteristics of the main character (feelings, interests,

behaviors, etc.)

Pages Read: 33 - 63

The main character in The Maze Runner is Thomas and he has a lot of different feelings, behaviors, and interests. Thomas who is new to the Glade (the setting of the story) he has a lot of mixed emotions at the time. When he got to the Glade he had no memory of where he was, how he got there, why he is there, and when he got there. He had no memory of his past, all he new was his name and that's all. When he arrived at the Glade he was in a dark box, which was spinning in multiple directions. When the other people came to rescue him that is when he began having mixed emotions.

Since the beginning of the book Thomas has had a thing about asking a lot of questions. When Thomas arrived at the Glade he had no memory (besides his name) and he was really confused. As soon as Alby (leader) began to talk to him, all Thomas did was ask a bunch of questions. Chuck (last newbie before Thomas) was being friendly to Thomas but instead Thomas kept annoying Chuck with more and more questions. He asked questions like, "What is this place?", "Why are we here?", "Why do I have no memory?", etc. When Alby gave Thomas the tour every time Alby explained even a little detail, Thomas was trying to hold in every single question he had.

An interest Thomas has had is about becoming a Runner. On the first night Thomas spent in the Glade, he asked "What is that out there?". Newt (a character) answered "It is a maze." Chuck explained to him that everyday Runners go into that maze and come out so that they can figure out how to get out of the glade. Newt also explained that at night huge animals come out, and they are called "grievers". Since Newt told him about the Runners, Thomas has had a desire to become one. He has the feeling that he has to become one.

I commented on Yareli, Mia, and Gaby's blog for this week.

Blog of 12/8/14

The Maze Runner By James Dashner

Prompt: Do any of the characters feeling change as you’ve read? Explain why or why

not.

Pages Read: 0 - 33

Yes, Thomas's (main character) feelings do change as I've read so far. The Maze Runner by James Dashner was written in a third person point of view. This book tells the characters feelings in a direct characterization way. The narrator states clearly in the book how the character is feeling in that moment. In this book so far Thomas has experienced different feelings such as anger, confusion, sadness, and fascination.

 An example that the main character's feelings are changing is on page 11 where he is feeling sadness. In the book it said, "Emptiness ate away at his insides, quickly replaced by a sadness that hurt his heart." This direct quote from the book demonstrates how Thomas went from feeling good to feeling sad. Thomas has just arrived at the glade and he is really confused. He doesn't know anything and his memory has been erased. This shows that Thomas begins to become sad. This quote also shows how the author uses direct characterization. He uses direct characterization because he says directly in the quote that Thomas is feeling sad.

Another example that the main character's feelings are changing is on page 5 where he is feeling confusion. In the book it said, "He was consumed with curiosity but still felt too ill to look closely at his surroundings." This direct quote shows how Thomas (once rescued from the box) felt like he was consumed by curiosity because he had no idea who were the people who just rescued him. This also shows direct characterization because it tells you directly in the quote how the character feels, which is curiosity.

I commented on Joseph, Giovanna, and Yareli's blog for this week.

Blog of 12/1/14

Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher

Prompt: List the reasons why another person should or should not read this.

Pages Read: 170- End

One of the reasons why I think people should read this is because it is a good book. Since the beginning when Clay Jensen got the tapes that included the 13 reasons why Hannah Baker committed suicide, it became interesting. Anyone who got those tapes meant that they were one of the reasons why. Clay didn't know why he got the tapes. He began to listen to them and the more he listened to them the more he regretted not talking to Hannah before she died. It is a interesting book, I would recommend it.

Another reason I would recommend this book is because could also relate to a real life situation. Not having someone mailing tapes, but the suicidal part in the book. By reading the book, you can see ways Hannah thought about other people and why she wanted to kill her self. This might help if you start to see those same things in another person in real life. On page 173 it says that one of the warning signs of suicide is "sudden change in appearance". This kind of information might help in a real life situation.

         These are two of the reasons of why people should read "Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher". It is a very interesting book. It also teaches to be more careful on how you judge or talk to other people. The book becomes very interesting since the beginning, because you want to learn what happens during that party. That party was the last time Clay got to talk to Hannah. It is a nice story of how he begins to feel something for Hannah and how he regrets losing her.

I commented on Mia, Justin, and Diana's blog for this week.