I Am Number Four

I am currently reading the book I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. Right now I am on page 53. This book is about a group of beings who were sent to Earth from a different planet because their race was being killed off, and they have to live among us. They are incredibly strong and fast, but otherwise look like normal humans. So far, three of the beings have been killed and John Smith is number four. He and his guardian Henri just moved from Florida to Paradise, Ohio to escape the Mogadorians. I like the book so far because it didn't have a very long exposition and got right into the rising action. It's to see any themes, but I have started to see a change in the main character. John Smith started out the story as a shy guy that mostly kept to himself. However, on his first day at his new school he stood up to the school bully and made friends with a pretty girl named Sarah Heart. These lead me to think that there might be another side to John I have yet to see. One of the most important quotes from the book is "They are hunting us, and they won't stop until they've killed us all. I am Number Four. I know that I am next." John said this right after he discovered Number Three was killed and the Mogadorians would all start to come after him. I am really curious to see if John can continue to out run them, or what he will do if they find him.

I just finished reading the book Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. This was the third book in a series called "The Hunger Games". In this book the main character Katniss Everdeen has to decided whether or not to be the face of the rebellion she started with her first hand full of poisonous berries, and truly embrace the mockingjay she represented to the people. The two major themes that stuck out to me in Mockingjay were  finding the balance of humanity in war (doing what is morally right), and being your own person. Gale was the perfect example of going against what was morally right. He was so blinded by his hatred for the Capitol that he was willing to condemn anyone associated with them to a death that the Capitol would have given any rebel. He had no problem killing a whole mountain full of people with the justification that the Capitol would had done worse. Being your own person is a theme that was mainly centered on Katniss and Peeta. Peeta first told Katniss before the first Hunger Games that he wanted to die who he was, "to show them I'm not just a piece in their games." Katniss was again reminded of this by President Snow. He asked Katniss if she really knew the rebels or if she had yet again been used in some one else's game. The three characters that changed the most were Gale and Katniss. Gale during the war seemed to become a different person. He helped to make weapons and bombs that prayed on human sympathies and emotions. He also became indifferent to the survival of humans and his relationship with Katniss distanced. Katniss herself was ravaged by the war. She had lost so much and seen so much evil that she feel into a deep depression. This was so different from the bristling fierce girl we first saw who fearlessly took her sister's place in the reaping. After Katniss came out of her depression she started to see the beauty of life and even started to let herself love and be loved again. I think this new view Katniss had made her the best character because it showed that even seeing the worst things in the world life goes on. This is reflected in one of my favorite quotes of the book, "The promise that life goes on, no matter how bad our losses." I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone to read of either gender, and any age.

I am currently reading Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker. I have read to chapter 49 (p. 297). So far in the book, Kate has gotten very close to solving her friend's murder but she still has one piece of the puzzle to solve. I think the book is great and well written. It has great suspense tactics and good side problems. I think the authors wrote this to write a fun yet serious and intreging mystery. The theme of the book is friendship. The authors wanted us o think about what makes a true friend. The best character is Kate, because she has gotten more confident and she has grown in the friendships of Liam and Seth. A cool quotaion is "Whoever said 'the truth hurts' wasn't kidding". I like this quotation because it describes what Kate has to go through in the whole book. I am wondering if it was the Sisterhood or the Brotherhood who killed Grace and why Kate is getting ghostly emails from her.

      I finished The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. The ending was even more interesting then the middle because Michael started to look into colleges and the Collins both went to Ole Miss and they are trying to guilt him into going to Ole Miss kind of but that don't realize how much they are doing that until after he decides he's going there. Michael goes and talks to someone about it because they caught on the what the family was doing to him and how they weren't letting Michael make the decision so they talked to Michael about it and he got really upset when they convinced him that's what the Collins were doing and he left for a while to find his mother. When he couldn't find her Leigh Anne found him again and apologized and he got to go to school where he really wanted to in the end.

       I thought the book was amazing and really explained things to great detail and I as a reader got the full affect. I could probably read this book over and still enjoy it the same amount because it's that interesting. The author does a really good job of finding ways to speak out to the readers.

       I think Michael Lewis wrote this book to teach the readers how important it is to stay true to yourself and I think that's part of the theme and not allowing others to take over what you believe.

       Michael Oher really showed how strong he was at the end of the book by figuring out that he needs to follow what he believes and not listen to the Collins just because they took him in when he was lost and bought him things and helped him. He helped me understand the theme really well and I'm glad the author made it that way because that's how readers tend to understand it the best.

      "Michael's gift is that the Good Lord gave him the ability to forget. He's mad at no one and doesn't really care what happened. His story might be sad, but he is not sad." This quote is amazing. It really explains the theme of the book and Michael himself. This really caught my eye and makes me think about not holding on the whats in the past and looking at the future and others aren't controlling that of mine. I am.

Pride and Prejudice Post #3

The book that I'm reading is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Last time I left off at chapter 42 and I've read through chapter 61, the final chapter of the book.

So, Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, take a tour of Mr. Darcy's house, Pemberley, because they think he's gone. The servants at the house are all telling her how Mr. Darcy's so nice and generous. Mr. Darcy arrives, which is awkward considering she rejected him. He still behaves kindly and politely to both Elizabeth and her relatives who are of a lower social status and whom Darcy would have normally scorned if Elizabeth had not rejected him. Elizabeth also meets Darcy's sister, Georgiana. A letter from home arrives saying Lydia had eloped with Wickham and that they had run away. Since the two were not legally married, this would disgrace their family and Elizabeth hurries home. Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet went to look for Lydia and Mr. Gardiner eventually finds her. Wickham agrees to marry Lydia legally if he recieves an income. They think Mr. Gardiner paid him, but really it was Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy return to Netherfield after Mr. Darcy's encouragement and Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane, which she accepts. Lady Catherine somehow found out that Mr. Darcy wants to marry Elizabeth, but she wants him to marry her daughter. She asks Elizabeth to promise she won't marry Mr. Darcy, but Elizabeth refuses. On a walk Darcy said his feelings had not changed. Elizabeth accepts the proposal and both Jane and she are married.

I still think that this book is very good! I'm really happy that Elizabeth finally fell in love with Darcy and I think it's so sweet that Mr. Darcy would do everything that he did for Elizabeth including being polite and nice to her lower class relatives when he would have normally not even wanted to talk to them, bringing Bingley and Jane back together, and paying Wickham to marry Lydia. This one was of the most importance so her family wouldn't be disgraced and he could marry Elizabeth. Some of the themes of this book are pride and prejudice, both of which Darcy and Elizabeth possess. After Elizabeth rejected Darcy and he realized how he must have looked to her, he became aware of his pride and was inspired to do the kind things for Elizabeth and her family. We also see that Mr. Darcy fights through his pride and his prejudice against lower class people and treats the Gardiners with respect. Elizabeth also changes after she receives Mr. Darcy's letter and realizes that the pride she took in her own judgment allowed her to overlook Mr. Wickham's true character and underestimate Darcy's. The best two characters are Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth because Mr. Darcy is so kind and generous and Elizabeth is so clever and thoughtful. A quote from chapter 56 says: "You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my nephew! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you not consider that a connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?" This was said by Lady Catherine de Bourgh when she was trying to get Elizabeth to promise not to marry Mr. Darcy. I find this quote interesting because Lady de Bourgh is only concerned with Mr. Darcy's "honour and credit" and not with his true feelings. I feel like this is very ironic... why would she want him to sacrifice true love in order to save his reputation when he would obviously be happier marrying Elizabeth, whom he actually loves (and it probably isn't even going to disgrace him)?

A question I have is: why did Wickham want to elope with Lydia when she had no money? Maybe he was just desperate...? Or he knew Darcy would pay him income...?

      I'm reading the book The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. I have read a little over half the book and it's getting really interesting. When a family sees Big Mike walking in the streets late at night the wife, Leigh Anne, invites him to come home and sleep on their couch because she knew he was going to sleep in a random place around town. This family happens to be really into sports and after they find out he's doing football, even the little 11 year old boy, helps him with his strategy of the game and conditioning to prepare. The family eventually takes Mike in and trusts him with everything.

      This is very strange for a christian family to do and Leigh Anne is treated poorly by her friends about her decision but i think this makes her want to call Mike her own so they legally adopt Big Mike. I really like this book and it's getting hard to put down because a lot is going on with the friends, family, and classmates of the kids and how they now have a black living with them.

       I still think the theme is about finding it in yourself and figuring out your life alone. No one can make your decisions. Yours is going to be the best one no matter what people tell you. Follow your heart. I think the author also wanted the reader to think about how you treat others. People are people and you should treat every one of them how you would want to be treated.

       I still like Michael the best in the book because he is battle through some crazy things and he stays strong through it all and continues to think of others before himself and it get him so far in life and he's an all around better person and he can honestly say that about himself.

      Another favorite quote of mine is "Don't worry where I am. I'll tell you when I get there." I think this means that Michael knows he's not where he wants to be yet and he's kind of ashamed of it but he knows he's going to find a way to the place he feels he should be and when he gets there everyones gonna know about it.

     

   

Wolf Brother #3

I am reading  Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. I am currently on page 96 in chapter eleven.

                Torak and Wolf have been captured! After twelve days without Fa, Torak is captured by a hunting party from the Raven Clan. He has shot a buck on their land and must die to pay for his mistake. However, because he claims innocence he will fight Hord, a large 19 year-old clan member. Hord’s sister, Renn, was part of the hunting party that found Torak, and she captured Wolf. As Torak and Hord fight, Torak realizes that in order to defeat Hord he must use wit, not just brute force. Once Torak has won the fight, Renn comes forward with an interesting discovery. She has found the dog whistle that Torak has crafted for calling Wolf. One of the clan prophecies tells of a listener that will rid the Forest of a demonic bear and restore peace. A clan meeting is called to decide Torak’s fate. Is a sacrifice brewing?

                The book is getting even better. Torak has had his first encounter with man since he was very little. I also really like how believable the story is. New topics keep popping up everywhere. The theme of the book is growing up. Torak has to grow up once his father dies, and is forced to make very adult decisions early in his teenage years.

                The best character in this book is Torak. He has grown in maturity and ability while being alone in the Forest. Torak has been alone for about twelve days now. He has made his first kill and discovered his guide is a lone wolf cub. He is definitely a trusting character.

                “A shadow attacks the Forest. None can stand against it… Then comes the Listener. He fights with air, and speaks with silence… The Listener gives his heart’s blood to the Mountain. And the Shadow is crushed.” (Paver 83-84) This quote is important because it foreshadows Torak’s future in the story. Torak is the Listener.

                In this section of the book we also learn the answer to one of my questions. Torak’s mother died when he was young. She was a member of the Red Deer Clan. Torak’s mother died; perhaps this is the reason Fa and Torak left the clans.

Questions:

1.       What part does Wolf play in the prophecy if Torak is the Listener?

2.       How does Wolf know the way?

3.       Will Torak be sacrificed?