The story that they carried

          This week I’m reading The things that they carried. By Tim O’Brien, Due to my packed schedule, particularly towards the end of the school year; it has been a considerably long time since I've had the opportunity to so thoroughly drink in a book like this. The past week or so I've spent reading and reading (and reading, and reading) The Things They Carried, living in its pages, watching every word, hearing every phrase in my head, exploring, searching for meaning and truth and lies in every corner... 

I'm breathless as I'm typing this, actually. I just have so much to say about this book. I'm sure I could fill pages upon pages, examining every drop of ink in this brilliant text. I'll spare you, of course. 

I'll do you all a favor and give you with a quote from my point of view on O'Brien's masterpiece! 

I'm breathless as I'm typing this, actually. I just have so much to say about this book. I'm sure I could fill pages upon pages, examining every drop of ink in this brilliant text. I'll spare you, of course. 

I'll do you all a favor and give you with a quote from my point of view on O'Brien's masterpiece! 

"The only way to represent the self is to delicately smash that self into pieces, spread those pieces around, and create something new from the remnants of what previously existed. Some tremendous work, an engrossing web of stories and ideas and truth and lies, The Things They Carried and all characters and events in it were created by a Tim O’Brien who took the intricate ceramic vase of his own life and broke it into dozens of small and large segments, and, with fiction and lies, constructed and restructed his own experiences in order that they convey the real truth, beyond the 'truth' of what really happened and what did not... O’Brien put the fragments together to form a unified, fictional, honest story which I wish to mentor."So cool!!

Response to Eli's post

Eli’s post on the book The mysterious benedict society and the perilous journey by Trenton Lee Stewart was pretty interesting. I’ve read the book in 6^th grade and forgot all about the characters and their details. But when I was scrolling down the blog posts I saw Eli’s post about the book and it instantly rung a bell. In the blog post each character was specifically described. It made me feel like seeing an old friend that you haven’t seen or heard from in two years. It also gave me an idea of how the characters would look like in real life. My memory was also refreshed by the way he summarized the book and does he think how the character feels, but he also explains why the character would feel that way.

 to see the blog post for yourselves visit: http://blackmarketaj.blogspot.com/2011/12/lol-i-did-this-one-in-purple.html

Nope, not letting go

This is part 2 of my blog on The knife of never letting go by Patrick Ness and I have got to say, this is the first book I feel truly addicted to throughout this short period of 8^th grade. Now I have read up to 219 pages of this book.

          One thing I have noticed is Todd’s changes throughout the story.

          From a regular kid in his village to discovering things he’s never seen before, Todd is the only character in the book that interests me the most. He lives in a town with no women, a quiet town, and every political figure there has a secret. And Todd then starts to unveil a secret so dark, that to his hometown, he’s become public enemy#1. In my perspective, at the beginning Todd was another teen trying to live his life, in the middle he’s kind of scared, scared that if he dies, no one will know the town’s horrible secret. And through out the rest of the book he becomes noble and willing to sacrifice.

I just hope I’ll be satisfied with the ending. 
For more on character developments in the knife of never letting go visit http://blogaddressurlz.blogspot.com/2011/12/character-developments-in-knife-of.html

Should I let go of the knife?

                      I just started to read the book The knife of never letting go by Patrick Ness and I've just read the first 30 pages and so far, so good. For now I’m pretty hooked with the book, it’s like every character in the town knows this big secret and yet keeps it away from the rest of the world. I’m curious to know. I still have the same questions from last week.

    Is there justice being served in the text?

Who blocks justice, what is their motivation?

    Is there justice being served in the text?

            I wish to know if there was justice being served in the text by now, however, a conflict is yet to be resolved. I just hope justice will be served later on throughout the book.

Who blocks justice, what is their motivation?

            I think mayor Prentiss and some politicians in Todd’s hometown are the antagonists in this book. Because they’re hiding something that they think no one else can find out, must be really bad. I wonder if someone finds out, Prentiss’ career will be decimated. If I keep reading, Todd & I will find the truth.

       

     That is if I don’t quit while I’m ahead. It’s books like these that have a crappy ending, I hope this one doesn’t follow up.

Bullies & Aspergers syndrome

My book Perfect targets by: Rebeckah Heinrichs explains how kids with AS (Asperger Syndrome) are being affected by the bullying in their schools and more than we think. There are dozens of stories of kids who have or have bullied a kid with Asperger’s explaining how the problem starts, what’s the outcome, and what is a possible solution and can it be used for similar conflicts?  But there are few questions that stick to my mind when I read this book.

            Is there justice being served in the text?

I don’t know if justice is being served in the text, since it’s already been done but this could prevent this from happening in the future and justice could be served to the victims of this bullying (spiritually of course)

Who blocks justice, what is their motivation?

Obviously it’s the bullies that block justice for the kids with AS either for fun or for revenge because on some cases kids with AS blurt out some hurtful and angry words, next minute they don’t even remember saying it.  The bully finds it fake and retaliates  by pummeling or mocking the child with AS and it actually makes them even more depressed than they are.

Having trouble surviving school?

                If you’ve been having trouble trying to survive in school, like I have, then have no fear, Jon & Jayne Doe’s guide to getting through school (mostly intact) This book informs me how to survive the wild jungle called school. Not only does it tell you how to avoid this situation, but it also gives you tips for a “what if this happens” problem and how their experience at school could help you if you have a related problem like “How to write an essay and keep it organized and neat.”

 If you have a test and you’re completely stressed, there are tips on how to calm yourself down or ways to make a study guide and some strategies that can make you committed to studying for example: If you have a test/project that’s due in about 3 days, don’t panic! You have to plan your time, for a test you should start studying during your spare time and when the day of the test comes just relax and pretend you’re only writing answers on a piece of paper, you won’t get arrested if you answer a question. And do not save anything for the last minute! It’ll just haunt you. I made this tip so that I can improve on my tests and projects. But I try and keep the tips related to the advice Jon and Jayne Doe are giving me. Now I try and follow these tips and I hope they prove successful.

My point is that if you’re having trouble surviving in school, then you should read this series and it could help you to become a better student and maybe even a better person.

Miracles can happen

Who brings or represents Justice? Who we might typically assume?

          In my book Miracle at Monty middle school, by Mary. A. Monroe, I think Mr. Martin brings justice to Melvin and the other kids with academic problems. I believe Mr. Martin brings justice because Mr. Martin has inspired these kids to be confident in themselves and he also gave the students the help and tutoring they need.

In the beginning of the book, Melvin did not have anyone to help him, he pretty much fails a lot classes. Even the middle school tries to hide him and the 11 other students, in room 122 at the far end of the school, for a D.O.P (Drop Out Prevention) class. So I guess Mr. Martin practically brings the justice through out the story.

          I have just started this book but I can already tell who’s bringing the peace and justice and I know who’s going to block it. If I keep reading this book eventually I can find something in the story that I can relate to...