Entry Four: Looking For Alaska

I chose this novel because I had already read The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and loved it. I figured that I would love this book just as much. Also, my friend who introduced me to The Fault In Our Stars, told me about Looking For Alaska. I was very excited to read it. Personal connection that I have with this book, is that I love pranking and I can be very good at it. Another connection that I with Looking For Alaska is that I have lost many loved ones just as Pudge and the Colonel did. I would recommend this book to anyone who has lost a loved one. They understand what it is like to lose someone special, just as Pudge and the Colonel did. I would also recommend this to someone who like romantic books. I would also recommend this to teenagers who understand the life of school and drama. The only bad things about this book, in my opinion, is the amount of cuss words and drugs represented, but that is happens in college now in days. Overall, this was a great book and I loved every bit of it. It shows the real troubles in everyday life.

Entry Three: Looking For Alaska

Looking For Alaska has many hooks involved. One of the most obvious hooks, is the way the book is structured. The book is structured like a journal with two parts, Before and After. During the Before section of the book, you are wondering what happens in the middle of the book. This makes the reader want to continue reading the book. Another hooking in the book is when The Eagle wakes Pudge and the Colonel up. This is at the very beginning of the After section of the book. In Looking For Alaska, it says, “‘Something terrible has happened,’ the Eagle said, and then closed the door” (page 138, Green). This shows that something bad has happened and it makes the reader want to continue reading. Another hook in Looking For Alaska, is all of the pranks the characters do. The author does a great job at building up the pranks to keep the reader’s interest. In Looking For Alaska it builds up the pranks by  the Colonel saying, “‘Well, first we gotta find a stripper. And second Pudge has to work some magic with his dad’” (page 201, Green). This quote shows how extraordinary and crazy this prank is going to be and leaves you wondering what will happen.

Entry Two: Looking For Alaska

Everyone has wants and desires. In my opinion, John Green did a wonderful job creating and explaining the major characters’ wants and desires. He carried them all throughout the entire book. Pudge’s desire is to find his Great Perhaps. That is why he went to Culver College, to find his Great Perhaps. Alaska’s desire was to find the way out of the labyrinth. She found it, that’s why she allegedly killed herself. The Colonel was more difficult to decipher his desire. I think that his main desire was to find answers. After Alaska died, he wanted to know everything. The answers to the what, why, how questions. All of these desires and wants lead to the themes developed in Looking For Alaska. The themes include, the Great Perhaps, the labyrinth, drugs, and pranks. The Great Perhaps and the labyrinth are themes because they are mentioned in the book multiple times. Drugs and pranks are somewhat of a theme because they are meaningful. These are the two things that became rituals when Alaska died. In Looking For Alaska it describes the ritual for Alaska and cigarettes, “The Colonel pulled a cigarette out of his pack and threw it into the water. ‘What the hell?’ I asked. ‘For her,’ he said” (page 193, Green). When Alaska died, they pulled a prank and started the annual Alaska Young Memorial Prank. That is why I think pranking and drugs are somewhat themes, because they are meaningful. The structure of Looking For Alaska is a journal type of organization. This book is separated into two parts, After and Before, referring to the death of Alaska.

Entry One: Looking For Alaska

The major characters in Looking For Alaska are Pudge, Alaska, and the Colonel. Miles Pudge Halter was nicknamed Pudge at Culver College. Pudge is the narrator in this particular book. He was tall and scrawny. He was awkward, but he fell in love with Alaska, just like any other guy. Alaska was a character that everyone loved. Pudge made a great deal about her beauty and her mood swings. Alaska died in the middle of the book, where Before ends and After begins. The Colonel introduced Pudge and Alaska. The Colonel was a friend to both Alaska and Pudge. He was introduced as a small, but a don’t-mess-with-me type of person. Takumi, Lara, and The Eagle were all important characters, but not as important as Pudge, Alaska, and the Colonel.

The main setting is Culver College where Pudge, Alaska, the Colonel, Takumi, and Lara attended. This is where most of the book was located. Two other settings that show importance is the Highway I-65 and Pudge’s house. Highway I-65 is important to the story because that is where Alaska died. Pudge’s house is important because that is where the story began and where he found his desire for the Great Perhaps. The main conflict in Looking For Alaska was that Alaska died. In Looking For Alaska it states, “‘Last night, Alaska Young was in a terrible accident.’ His tears came faster, then. ‘And she was killed. Alaska has passed away’” (page 139, Green). Throughout the book, I had predicted that Alaska was going to end up dying and I predicted that Pudge would fall in love with her. I predicted that Alaska was going to die because the author, John Green gave little hints (foreshadowing). An example of John Green’s foreshadowing is when Alaska said, “Y’all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die” (page 44, Green). Another example in Looking For Alaska is, “‘I may die young,’ she said. ‘But at least I’ll die smart. Now, back to tangents’” (page 52, Green). Connections from this book include the book/movie, The Vow. They are connected because in both books there was a terrible accident. Another connection is The Fault In Our Stars and Looking For Alaska because in both books a major character dies. Some questions I had for the author include, Why did you continue the book after Alaska died and why did you make the part after she died as long as before?, Why did you not tell whether Alaska committed suicide or not?, and my last question is, Why did you choose to end the book with Pudge’s exam answer?.

Pretty Little Liars: Book 2

Characterizing:
The main characters are Emily, Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and A. A is the main conflict in this story, he/she is torturing the girls with their secrets they told their dead friend, Ally. The girls are cautious of A, but they try to figure out who it is. This tells me that the girls are strong, brave, and curious. They feel antagonized by A and they do what A tells them to, but they still try to figure out their own little mystery. In a way, they remind me of Nancy Drew because of how they try to solve a mystery on their own. Also, Nancy Drew is young and Emily, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna are young.

Pretty Little Liars: Book 2

Predictions:
I think that in this book Aria will tell her mom about her dad's cheating with his student. I also think that Aria and Ezra will become a couple again. I think that Hanna will get back together with Sean. I think that Emily will end up dating Maya and something will happen with Ben, not sure what though. I think that Spencer will end up dating Melissa's boyfriend like she did with Ian. I can't predict about A, because A is unpredictable. A know everything, the only thing I can say is that the girls might get closer to figuring out who A is. I am very excited to read this book. I loved the first one and my friend says they only get better.

Pretty Little Liars: Book One Finished!

My book review for Pretty Little Liars:
     Pretty Little Liars is a series of books about four girls whose best friend is murdered and they are getting tortured by texts and emails that they get from A. The first book was very good and I read it whenever I could. It was very slow though. It was only the first two episodes of the TV series. Each character is very interesting and they each have their own secrets. Each character is dealing with a few challenges in their everyday life. Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna are very different, but come together by one person, Alison and The Jenna Thing. It is an easy read and it keeps you guessing. It was a very good book and I look forward to reading the next one.

Pretty Little Liars: Book 1

I was going to do a prompt about text-to-text connections and symbols, but I honestly I couldn't think of any book that is like Pretty Little Liars. So instead, I decided to match a character from Pretty Little Liars and assign them to a fraction from Divergent. Aria would be amity because of how she tries to keep peace with in her family. Emily would be abnegation because she thinks of others before herself. Spencer would be erudite because she is very intelligent and tries to be the best at everything. Hanna is very hard to put into a faction, I feel as if she would be Divergent. Hanna isn't exactly any of these specifically, but she is all of them at times so far. What do you guys think these characters would be faction-wise in Divergent?

Pretty Little Liars: Book 1

I chose this book because my friend, Abigail Bromley, recommended it to me. I saw it at the store and decided I would try to read it. I was deciding to read the book or not because it wasn't in first person and for some reason, I only like books in first person. I like reading this book though because it seems like  the writing is in first person by showing feelings and thoughts. I watched some of series then stopped because I decided I wanted to read the books. I am reading this first book out of the series pretty quickly, but this book is very, very slow. It is just the first and a half of the TV shows.

Krista Ramsey Introduction Activity

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/03/20/krista-ramsey-cradle-cincinnati/6676533/

This column was about how protective and how loving mothers are towards their child. It also mentions how every woman has motherly instincts (mother bear).

"Good mothers are made, not born. Age, background and income level matter very little. Willingness to hold, talk to, read to, listen to, protect and love their child means everything." (Ramsey). This has syntax because the sentence carries on. I feel like this is a very important line in this column because it shows what really matters to a child, what is important and really needed. I feel like this really describes my mom and every mom around me.

The syntax of this column is somewhat thudded. An example of this is, "Really. Don't hesitate to ask. We've all had to figure this stuff out." (Ramsey). This is thudded because it uses a lot of periods and has short sentences.

Questions:
       So as a teenager, do I have motherly instincts, too? Or do I just get them when I have a kid? Was I born with them?
       Do you believe that men should like to dress up?
       Do you agree with the thought that technology effects your eyesight?

I Finished Twilight!

How did the author build suspense through out the book?
       The author built suspense by Bella figuring more things out Edward and Jacob. By figuring out about Edward and what he is, it gets her in sticky situations and she almost dies! Bella hasn't figured out who Jacob is yet, but it hints at the end of the book and when he tells her the old myths and stories about Forks. The author building suspense was very effective because it made me want to keep reading.

Is the vocabulary any different from other books?
        The vocabulary from this book is only different when Edward or his family speaks, they speak more formal like they are from an older time period.

Is there any songs that remind you of this book?
        They  have a sound track for this book already, but I would include Christina Perry A Thousand Years or something from an older time period that reminds me of Edward.

Best/Worst Things About My Book

The best thing about my book is how Bella describes her thoughts and her feelings. I also like all of the describtions that the author makes, it really allows me to be there in the moment instead of just telling me. I love all of the drama in this book and the suspense. I don't really hate anything about this book. The only thing is that I feel like the beginning of the book is kind of slow. I watched the movie before reading this book and so I feel like it's hard to read a book when you already know what's going to happen. Another reason I don't like this book is because I saw the movie before, I can't imagine anyone else than Kristen Stewart acting for Bella Swan. I like this book way more than I dislike this book just because of all of the describtions and narrating.

The Start of Twilight: Why I Chose it and Predictions

I chose Twilight because my cousin and mom wanted me to read it. I saw the movies and loved them, but I never have read the books before so I thought I would make them be my independent novel(s). Like I said, I had already watched the movie so I know what happens, but I will share what my predictions were when watching the movie. I knew that Edward and Bella would fall in love and get married instead of going for Jacob. I thought that something bad would happen since there were other vampires in town and I thought they would kill either Bella or her dad or Jacob. I really want to know what Edward is thinking and feeling through this whole experience. Same with Jacob, how is he feeling about Bella dating a vampire? I would like know know who does Charlie, Bella's dad, favor, Edward or Jacob? Why does every boy like Bella when she wasn't liked at home? These are just some of my questions about the book.

The Start of Twilight: Setting and Stephanie Meyer

The setting of Twilight is set in Forks and it's almost raining everyday. Bella, the main character and narrator, always complains about the rain and how green everything is. "Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me." (page 11). "It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window." page 53. Bella says that Forks is a small town covered in green woods. Forks is supposedly a cold place, even though it's winter and they just had their first snow. "The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face." page 27. Stephanie Meyer is the author of all of the Twilight Saga Trilogy including the making of Twilight Saga and books about Edward's thoughts during all of the events.