Rereading Books

Lately, it has been so hard for me to find books that I actually enjoy. In the past, I've read books such as The Hunger Games, and Percy Jackson that I loved so much, I reread them all the time. And every time I read these books, I learn more and more about the characters and plot that I didn't know before.

When I read I tend to skip over paragraphs and pages if I find them boring. When I reread I  might not skip those sections, and uncover important facts. I have learned the boring parts of books often have parts that are vital to the storyline.

In the Hunger Games, I skipped over many paragraphs and even chapters as I read if I got bored. I recently reread the Hunger Games and learned lots of new information that helped make the book better and easier to understand.

Beautiful Boy

The Author of Beautiful Boy, David Sheff, is the father of Nic Sheff, the author of Tweak. A few months ago I read Tweak, it was a story about a young mans struggle with drugs. In Beautiful Boy, the author tells us the story of his sons drug addiction from the fathers point of view, how his son went from a beautiful boy to a boy/man he could barely recognize anymore.

While reading this story, David shows all of his feelings and emotions in a very deep way. He shares anecdotes and stories of Nic as a child to show how much he misses his beautiful boy. For example, if Nic and him argue about going to rehab, and Nic leaves for a few days, he mentions how he used to be so determined in school and he had such a great future ahead of him.

I can personally connect to this because whenever I feel sad or am angry at someone, I try to remember the good times we've had together and it makes it easy for things to get better. And in the end, things usually do get better, just as things did with Nic and his father.

The Great Gatsby Character Analysis

In "The Great Gatsby" by Scott Fitzgerald, the character that the title is based off of is named Jay Gatsby. Mr Gatsby lives a very mysterious life that most people don't know about, or have the wrong idea about. He is extremely wealthy and no one knows where his wealth came from.

Jay is loves a women named Daisy, who is married to Tom Buchanan. They met when they were young and instantly fell in love. He grew up as a very poor child, he lies to Daisy about his past so he can make her believe that he is good enough for her. His main motivation for his wealth was Daisy. Gatsby moves to a huge house across the bay from Daisy in West egg, a part of long island for the newly rich. Every Saturday night, he throws big parties hoping that Daisy will come. He hopes to win her over with his wealth. One day, he discovers that his neighbor, and the narrator of the book, Nick Carraway, is her cousin. Nick invites both Jay and Daisy over for tea and the love connection is once again there. 

"The Great Gatsby" is based off the story of a man named Gatsby. He is in love with a women named Daisy whom he would do anything for. Gatsby is a very interesting character with many dimensions.

Hurricane Song

In Paul Volponi's "Hurricane Song",  the author wants us to remember what happened to the people who stayed in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina. The main character Miles and his father changed a lot because of the storm. and those hardships affected their relationship in many ways.

At the beginning of the text, Miles resented his father, he thought he cared about music more than he did about Miles, Pops and Miles were not close at all and didn't care about each other. As the story progressed, Pops had to become a real father for Miles and they had to protect each other from the dangers of Hurricane Katrina. In the end, Miles comforted his father when all the jazz clubs were destroyed, and Pops used his horn to save Miles from the man hurting him. These changes affected their relationship because they had to learn to protect and support each other. They also started to tell each other how they felt and how much they really did love each other, even though it wasn't obvious.

The protagonist of "Hurricane Song", Miles and his father Pops went through a very difficult time together during Hurricane Katrina that most people will never go through. The hardships they experienced helped to strengthen their relationship and in the end, show each their love for each other.

The Soda Ban Essay (very late)

The New York City Sods Ban is a new law that will ban sugary drinks over 16 oz from all city regulated restaurants. The Soda ban should be opposed because there are too many loopholes in the law and it will limit peoples choice.

One reason that the Soda Ban should be opposed is because the ban would not be effective due to the fact that there are too many loopholes in the law. The Soda Ban gets rid of sugary drinks over 16 oz in food establishments regulated by the government. However, “Soda Ban Explained” by Casey Neissat states that if a drink contains at least 50% milk it is allowed. The new law will not affect places like Starbucks, where you add your own sugar. 711 is not affected either because it is not a restaurant, it is a convenient store, so keep on buying the king of all big sodas, the 64 oz double gulp. Although the ban is a huge effort from the government to try and address the issue of obesity, there are still too many loopholes for it to have an effect. As you can see, there are many ways to still buy large sodas because not everywhere is influenced

Another reason that the Soda ban should not be supported is because the government is trying to to control and restrict peoples power to make their own decisions. Most people are aware of how much soda they drink, they should have the power to to decide if they want to cut back. If they don't want to, the government can't make them. It should not be in their power to control what people eat or drink. Even though the government is trying to make New York a healthier place and end the issue of obesity, they should not have capability to control what people eat.

The Soda Ban should not be passed because the law is not effective enough to put a dent in the issue of obesity. The government is also restricting peoples power to drink however and whatever they please. The government may think they are saving laves but they are really just making people walk one or two more blocks for a sugary beverage.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (the poem)

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. 

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

In the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, the protagonist shows remorse about the story he tells his future listeners that he took the road less traveled. He chose his road in life and the fact that he revised his story suggests that he wishes he had lead a more adventurous life.

In the first stanza, the first line "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" suggests that it is fall (yellow) which is the middle season, that makes me think that the protagonist is a middle aged man, 40 or 50, and is faced with 2 hard decisions that he choose from, or two roads. In the last stanza, the semi-colon at the end the line, "I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence:" shows that what he is saying after the semi-colon, "two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference" is what he wishes happened. The sigh makes me think that it is a sigh of wonderance,what if I really did take the other road? Where would I be now?

The protagonist who changed the story of life to make it seem like he lead a more courageous one makes me think deeper about humanity because many people regret the decisions they make and stretch the truth to imagine what it would be like if they had chosen the other path.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

The book "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zarvin is a very interesting. The main character, a girl named Elizabeth, who was killed in a bike accident, finds herself in the afterlife, a universe called Elsewhere, where everyone that dies ages backwards until the become babies and then sent down the river to be born again. Elizabeth is very depressed about her death and misses her whole life. When she dies, she learns how good her life was, and how she always took it for granted. Through this the reader learns  that you don't know what you have until its gone.
Liz misses things she had never even cared about before she died. She misses her annoying brother, her mean teachers, her homework, and the simple pleasure of life on earth. But most of all she's misses having obstacles to overcome in life. Everything in elsewhere is perfect, like a dream, no one ever has to work hard for anything
All in all this book makes you realize that all the little things in life that you do make you love your life, even if you don't realize it.. And all the obstacles you have to over come help you learn new things. When we have no problems and everything is perfect then we are almost not even human.

Book Genres

 Finding a book genre that you really like and want to continue reading is hard, and something I struggle with a lot. There are so many to choose from and even then you don't know if you will like that exact book. Sometimes I read a book in a completely new genre that I've never read before and I love it. And then I read a book in my usual genre and I hate it

One example of this is  Susan Collins's  "Hunger Games". This book is a futuristic, science fiction book. I normally don't like books like that because I don't care to learn about someones perspective about the future and I really don't like science either. But this book was so well written it didn't even matter to me that it was sci-fi. Overall it was really good. This shows me that sometimes you find a book in a genre you hate.
  

 All in all, you never know if you will like a book even if it's in your favorite genre of all time. One day you could be reading historical fiction and the next you may be reading a completely different book about realistic fiction. You don't have to have a favorite genre. I Don't. I found a book that outs of my comfort zone and it ended up being one of my favorites.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

  "Looking for Alaska" by John Green is compelling, brilliant, and absolutely insightful. It is one of my new favorite books. The author takes you through the exciting journey of three friends, Miles "Pudge", Chip "The Colonel", and the utterly fascination Alaska Young, who steals Pudge's heart and pulls him into her crazy world. 

  Miles Halters entire life has been one big nonevent. He is obsessed with finding his "Great Perhaps" (Francois Rabelais, poet) and is willing to try anything to get it.  He leaves him home and heads off to the crazy, unstable, and anything but boring Culver Creek boarding school, and his life turns upside down when he meets Alaska Young and Chip. They teach him about the complicated rules of Culver Creek, and what not to do. He falls in love with Alaska, who is an event in herself, and finally lets him live life to the fullest, launching him into the Great Perhaps. 

  This is one of the most interesting books I have ever read, it's simple yet complex plot, it's intricate characters and relationship, and it's elaborate details. It is amazing to go inside the world of Culver Creek and its students, you feel like you're a student yourself, and most importantly, you feel the agonizing pain that the entire student body and faculty experiences when the amazing Alaska Young goes missing. 

(YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!)

Sold by Patricia Mccormick

In Patricia Mccormick's "Sold", we follow the protagonist of the story who is a thirteen year old girl from Nepal, who travels to the city assuming she will become a maid, but  is instead is sold into the popular industry of child prostitution. Throughout her journey she goes through many things and experiences things that most 13 year old do no experience. She is cheated of her earnings and is lied to over and over again, but at the same time she is cared for by her new friends. She shows the reader that no matter what your going through, you need to have hope and be courageous
 The protagonist is put into the "Happiness House" and faces things that she would have never expected. She spent days without food and water locked in a room while she is beaten over and over again for not wanted to have sex with men. Throughout everything, she try's to remain hopeful. She dreams of her family being happy, freedom and sometimes even death. Which sometimes seemed like the best option she had.
 All in all, Patricia Mccormick teaches her readers that no matter what you're going through, being hopeful and positive is all you need to get through it. Never give up no matter how hard it gets, stay optimistic and things will get better. The protagonist of this story, gives an excellent example of perseverance through her hardest times.

Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

In Jordan Sonnenblick's "Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie" we follow the main character Steven as he learns to cope with middle school life, classwork, drums, and girls of course. One thing that separates Steven from most other middle schoolers, is that his brother Jeffery has cancer, throughout the book, he learns to deal with his brothers illness and challenges in school. At the end of the book, and Stevens 8th grade year, we see that he has matured greatly, through the sacrifices he willingly makes for his brother Jeffrey.
Steven shows a lot of maturity when he leaves his All City Jazz Band concert to rush Jeffery to the hospital with his mother. Steven had practiced all year and also had a solo, the concert was even a benefit for Jeffrey! He had been looking forward to that concert all year long, but when Jeffery had a fever, Steven dropped everything to be by his brothers side. He thought about what his friend Samantha, that he had met at the hospital had said about being with his brother no matter what. He wouldn't even let the most important day of his life so far stop him from doing just that. Steven made sacrifices for his brother even though it meant he would miss his concert.
Steven shows the reader his maturity when he shaves his head for Jeffrey.  Steven is usually a very self conscious person , I was shocked when he actually did, it was very selfless and kind of him to do that, even though it probably made him feel uncomfortable. Jeffery had been feeling very embarrassed about having to shave his heat and be bald, Steven did it too, so that Jeffery wouldn't feel alone. Steven was willing to make sacrifices for his brothers and not think about himself in the process. 
When Steven didn't let Renee Albert, the love his life since 3rd grade into his house, because he knew she was sick and Jeffrey couldn't be around that, the reader saw his maturity shine through once again. Steven had liked Renee for a very ling time and knew that any boy would do anything to have her come to their house. But Steven knew a virus would be a great threat to Jeffers health, he once again, thought about his brother instead of himself, so he turned her down even though it meant that he wouldn't get one on one time with Renee Albert!
In the end, Steven went from being a  selfish boy who only cared about himself and what people thought of him, to an amazing young man who cared for others and most importantly his little brother. He matured a lot from beginning to end by making many personal sacrifices for Jeffrey and not thinking about himself. That's why Steven is such a remarkable character.