Narnia.. Emily Ira

I am reading Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I am more than half way done with the book and it is SO good. I just got to the part where the kids all went into the wardrobe together and go to Narnia. They are wondering through the forest and they get lost. Edmund tells them to follow him because he knows where he is going. They end up at the White Witchs castle and the other siblings are scared to go in. But Edmund does so the other kids go with. I havent got any farther but im excited to read on. I think C.S. Lewis wrote this book to show that kids can have there own imagination and they love adventures. I dont have any questions about this book because I understand everything im reading and i have ideas of whats to happen.

The Serpent's Shadow Post #3

I am currently reading the book The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan. I decided to read it because Rick Riordan was one of my favorite authors when I was younger and I wanted to see if I still liked his writing. Right now, I am on page sixty-three, which is only about an eighth of the way through.

So far, the main characters Carter and Sadie Kane have gone to Texas to try and discover a way to kill Apophis, the Egyptian god of Chaos. They were unable to discover how to overcome Apophis, and the entire Fifty Second Nome was destroyed. This book is good because Riordan is using Ancient Egyptian mythology and giving it a twist by pairing it with a modern setting. I personally love mythology and find this book a unique and interesting way to write about it.

I'm not far enough into this book to know the author's intention in writing this book or the theme, but I hope to recognize them soon. The best character so far, has been Carter. He has grown from an awkward, shy, scared, but incredibly smart kid into a confident and wise leader. Now, he doesn't let the fear he feels in combat show, and he tries to stay calm to lead the younger magicians around him. One quote that really shows Carter's growth as a character comes from Carter's sarcastic sister Sadie, "I could almost imagine him as a leader of men without laughing hysterically." Some questions I had about this book are, why did the author write it, how will Sadie grow as a character, and will more characters be introduced?

Holes post #3

I am reading the book holes by Louis Sachar. I just finished the book. Stanley Yellnats escapes from Camp Green Lake after crashing the water truck into a hole. He finds Zero under the boat in the middle of nowhere. The eat this stuff called splugnish that they found under the boat. Stanley and Zero return back to the camp at night. They dig a hole and find this barried treasure and Stanley later returns home rich because his dad found out a cure for stinky shoes. I really enjoyed reading this book and like how Stanleys dad finds a cure to his stinky shoe problem. I think the author wrote this book because he maybe has encountered something like this in his, or he really likes digging holes. The theme could be coourage because Stanley has the courage to dig all these holes for something he didn't do. I think Stanley is the best character in the book because he drove the water truck into a hole, while trying to escape. A quote from the book is, "It was all because of you no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great grand-father." I have no questions.

Of Mice and Men (Post #3)

I read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In this book, two men, George and Lennie, find work on a farm after being chased out of time. George, a short and anxious man, takes care of Lennie, a huge man with a mental disability, as they work from place to place. At this new farm, they meet their cabin-mates and also the owners son, Curley, and his beautiful and flirtatious wife. Slim, the leader of the cabin, tells George and Lennie to stay away from her. Lennie is given a puppy, which he later kills by accident by stroking him too much. Curley's wife comes in and tempts Lennie to stroke her hair, which he does. He starts to panic and his grip on her hair is unbreakable, and by doing so she starts to scream. Lennie, again by accident and fear, kills her by snapping her neck. He is then hunted and so he goes and hides in the creek, where the story first begun. George then comes and sits by Lennie and tells him a story, but lifts a gun to Lennie's head and kills him.

Steinbeck never fails to disappoint; I loved this book. It was very short, but had a lot of emotion within it. Of Mice and Men reveals the way that mentally challenged people were treated in the 1930s. We read the book next year, so I'm sure that I'll learn that there's even more meaning to the book. I also really enjoyed this book because of how realistic it was, especially at the end. George would not have been able to keep moving from place to place with Lennie as he did before; this new job was perfect with and had the best opportunity for him to make it on his own. Sooner or later, Lennie probably would have gotten himself killed, and the way the he was killed in the book is so much more emotional. George had to put the bullet it his head, but I'm sure that Lennie wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

I really have no idea why Steinbeck wrote this book. Again, his life is a mystery to me; I don't know much about it. He might have possibly seen some one treated horribly as in the way Lennie was treated and wanted to make it know. He maybe had a family member who was challenged. Or he just might have been interested in a character like Lennie; I don't know. Whatever his story is, he did wonders with this book.

The theme of this book, to me, is human nature and innocence. When you think about it, Lennie was just doing what he thought was right and okay; he meant absolutely no harm, like many people do today. The world was cruel to him, and that's not right. This will never change, however. And I think that's what Steinbeck wanted us to think about; humans will never change the way different people are treated. Ever since the beginning, we have not socially accepted people who are different, and that's not right or fair. People, no matter how they look or act, should be treated the same as any other person. The reality of this situation, though, is that it's an impossible task, to treat all the same. To wish for that is like wanting the sky to rain chocolate; it's not going to happen. Steinbeck wanted us to realize this, but not try to change it because it simply cannot be changed.

The best character is George. He displayed a lot of growth throughout the novel. In the beginning, he was slightly hot-headed and probably very tired of Lennie tagging along with him. He was also frustrated that they were run out of another town because Lennie held on to a woman's dress; but still, he loves Lennie. George likes to dream; throughout the book he and Lennie dream of a ranch that they will live on. They'll have, most importantly, rabbits for Lennie to care for. Lennit loves rabbits, but he improvises with mice, which he keeps on killing. At the end, George has to kill Lennie, which is the point where George has grown the most. I think that he knew all along that this would happen some day, but he was just wishing it off and pushing it back. Now, he must face the reality and do what is best for Lennie, even though it caused so much pain.

I believe that Of Mice and Men was named the way it was because of the resemblance of mice to Lennie; not physically, of course. Lennie, as montrous as he is, is very unknowing, shy, curious, and scared. Mice, though small, are also unknowing of their surroundings, cautious and wondering, and msot of the time frightened. Also, mice are so easily killed. Do you feel any type of sorrow when you kill a mouse? The answer is no...and in the 1930s, that's the way that they treated people like Lennie. Like he was just a tiny mouse, and deserved to be killed because he was curious. It's "curiousity killed the cat," not, "curiosity killed the man."

I have just finished reading the book Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. The book continued with Kevin tracking down Katie and trying to kill her because he is so upset that she ran away from him in the first place. Katie gets Kristen and Josh out of danger before running away from himtoo. The book ends with Kevin dying and Alex and Katie ending up together. I really liked this book because it had everything from mystery to action/suspense to tender romance. I think that the author wrote this book to try to communicate that true love can last through anything, even the darkest times of life. The big themes in this are romance and probably also suspense. My favorite charecter was Carly Jo, Alex's wife who died of brain tumors. "Jo" was Katies nieghbor and best friend, but was really Carly who came a more of a figment of her imagination and helped Katie realize that she and Alex were meant to be together. She is so kind and strong to do this and she really made the book more interesting.

Stargirl

Currently, I am reading the book Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I am about half-way through the book, and things are just starting to get interesting. Stargirl, a very interesting character started going to a public school in Mica after being home schooled for most of her life. Mica High School is a very monotonous place and the student body lacks individuality. Stargirl on the other hand, has a crazy personality. She enjoys dressing in crazy costumes, has a pet rat that she takes everywhere, sings and plays the ukulele during lunch, and changes her name to what she feels fits her. The students are just starting to accept her personality, and they're finding their own individuality. This book is interesting because of the way the author writes. Jerry Spinelli writes in an almost abstract way that gives colorful life to the words on the page, and vividly describes his characters. I think he wrote this book because he wanted to show us how many times in every day life we lose its meaning and "conform to the norm". He showed this through one of his major themes, which seems to be individuality. The best character in the book is Stargirl because she best represents the theme. She came to a place where every one was basically the same, and she was incredibly different. When the people around her tried to change her and make her more like them she stayed true to her personality. The people around Stargirl changed opinions of her, but she never really changed herself. The quote, "Then came the boos. She did not seem to notice." represents Stargirls unwillingness to recognize other people's dislike of her and attempts to change her. One thing this story makes me wonder is how can Stargirl be so oblivious? How can she not have an ego and not react to the things people say to her?

Mockingjay (Final Post)

Right now I am reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I am almost done with the book; I have about 45 or so pages left.

After Katniss gets saved by the District 13 rebels from her second Hunger Games, she decides to be the "Mockingjay," or the leader for the rebellion against the Capitol. After Katniss sees the Capitol bomb a hospital full of helpless people in District 2, she makes a propaganda video against the Capitol and airs it for all of Panem to see. Then Peeta reveals that the Capitol is going to bomb District 13 on camera. This results in him being tortured (Katniss even sees it on camera). Peeta's early warning allows everyone to get to the bunker safely. After the bombing, no one got hurt, but District 13 has suffered some damage. The rebels get Peeta and the other tributes from the Capitol. When Katniss reunites with Peeta, he tries to kill her because the Capitol used a form of torture that distorted his memories of Katniss and made them bad. This is very hard for Katniss because she realizes that she loved Peeta all along and he may never be the same again. Katniss decides she wants to fight in battle, so she goes through training and is sent to the Capitol. Katniss' unit and her film crew is sent of to film a propaganda video, but the Capitol attacks them and they are killed off until only Katniss, Gale, Peeta, and some of her crew are left. When the Capitol attacks, they are forced not to turn back so Katniss turns the mission into one to kill President Snow. Katniss eventually gets to the president's mansion where she sees Prim who is a medic. Katniss somehow catches on fire and and her sister tries to save her, but Prim dies in the process (sad face). When she wakes up, Katniss is at the hospital and she finds out that President Snow has been captured and awaits trial and the rebels are now in charge of Panem. This is where I last left off.

I'm not getting much enjoyment out of the book right now. It almost seems like Suzanne Collins wrote Mockingjay just so everyone could find out what happens in the end. I guess she didn't even have to write a fantastic book because people will still read it just for that reason. I think a theme the author wanted us to think about when she wrote this book is society. So many people die in this book, it makes you really think about how lucky we are to live somewhere that is relatively non-violent. Other people around the world are not so lucky. I think the reason that places around the world are so different in this aspect is because of how they are raised. This brings up the point of Nature vs. Nurture, which is the question of: Does how people are raised affect how someone acts, or are they born like that? I think Finnick is a very interesting character in this book. He is really funny, but he also is just a really good friend to Katniss. He knows exactly what she is going through because they both went to the Hunger Games twice and they both had someone they loved who was being held hostage in the Capitol.

My question: Why did the author have so many of the good characters die? Is is that essential to the story?