Currently for the Book, After

Devon stares at him standing there, remembering the only other guy had ever opened a car door for her.

She can paint a pretty picture but this story has a twist. The paintbrush is a razor and the canvas is her wrist.

Pages 175-350

After

She could have gotten away with it....she did get away with it. But she didn't want too, she wanted to take blame for what she did. She messed up...she took away a life, and she wants to do the time for it.

After

I remember my cousin having the hardest time getting pregnant, but then one day it just happened, and then we had Charlie. I fell so in love. I couldn't imagine anyone ever hurting him. When Devon just let her baby die...and not even try to save the baby, I felt so sick. The baby didn't do anything to her. Why kill it?

Bingo...

http://jimmehftw.blogspot.com/ You didn't do one, therefore violating all of the rules. K.

http://thinking-anonymous.blogspot.com/ You didn't do one either....

http://morgan-happygolucky.blogspot.com/ Yours was my favorite, because it was just amazing. Do ya thing gurrrrllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.

http://estella-havisham.blogspot.com/ Common mistake #2!

BINGO! smh.

Favvv quotes

“So now I'm thinking about it. I'm imagining sitting down with my parents and actually saying, "I'm gay." And you know what? It makes me a littel mad. I mean, straight guys don't have to sit their parents down and tell them they like girls.”

“That's what people do. Kill the things they're afraid of.”

Suicide Notes

This book is so intresting, and so relatable to the life of many teenagers. Jeff has a huge issue with facing things and a problem with lying to himself. I feel like so many people have a hard time facing things that we don't want to face in our life. Like when someone dies, we're in denial about it, because it doesn't seem real, but when we're in denial, we aren't facing something. This book reminds me about when my best friends parents died. I knew they were gone, but I didn't want to let myself believe it. I felt like I could just show up to their house, and they would be there. I was in full denial, and one day it was like I woke up from a nightmare, and it was all true. We all have to face denial in life and beat it down.

The Mezzanine

In the excerpt from Nicholson Baker’s novel, The Mezzanine, Baker’s literal tone, but relaxed voiced allows the reader to get inside the mind of the speaker, to be able to really understand what he is thinking. Baker is very precise when he starts to describe the things he’s currently carrying around with him, and also when he describes his surroundings. He compares the way view from the escalator on sunny days, and on dark days. Throughout the excerpt Baker uses a very elegant tone when speaking about everything he is seeing.

Pater Noster

Our Father who art in heaven
Stay there
And we'll stay here on earth
Which is sometimes so pretty
With its mysteries of New York
And its mysteries of Paris
At least as good as that of the Trinity
With its little canal at Ourcq
Its great wall of China
Its river at Morlaix
Its candy canes
With its Pacific Ocean
And its two basins in the Tuileries
With its good children and bad people
With all the wonders of the world
Which are here
Simply on the earth
Offered to everyone
Strewn about
Wondering at the wonder of themselves
And daring not avow it
As a naked pretty girl dares not show herself
With the world's outrageous misfortunes
Which are legion
With legionaries
With torturers
With the masters of this world
The masters with their priests their traitors and their troops
With the seasons
With the years
With the pretty girls and with the old bastards
With the straw of misery rotting in the steel of cannons.

Currently for Such a Pretty Girl

“A victim soul is a pious individual chosen to absorb the pain and suffering of others.”

“So I leave proof of my existence behind me like a snail trail with the small hope that years of talking at me will someday soften her enough to talk with me, that she'll finally pull the knife from my chest and say yes, we are better off without him. That what happened wasn't my fault and from now on she will thrust herself between me and danger, and shout NO.”

“The ache starts in my chest and spreads through my veins. The abuse I can handle; it's the happiness that cripples.”

Style Mapping.

In all of Jodi Picoult's book somebody is being struck with tragedy. In her books, My Sisters Keeper, A Change of Heart, and 19 Minutes, Picoult's sets up a devastating scene at the begining of each book. In each book somebody is dealing with a death or someone fighting death, weather it be a high school shooting, a young girl fighting cancer, or an innocent man getting convicted of a murder that he didn't commit. Picoult's use of straightforward language gives off a sense that she doesn't care about the norm of our society and what they will think. In all of her books she is very blunt, and at sometimes very vulgar, but she almost has to be in order to get the point across. Her books deal with very controversial things that are going on in our society, but also things that make us think.

Such a Pretty Girl

I was watching Law and Order SVU last night, and I saw an episoide that was exactly like this book. A girl getting kidnapped and raped, but then once she started to get to old for her kidnapper, he wanted to find another girl for him, so she killed him instead. She killed him to save any other girl from being hurt by him. The girl has such confused feelings...at first she's so scared, but then after awhile she isn't sure if it's love that she's feeling. But the reader knows she's been brainwashed. I've read so many books this year already about women that are being brainwashed and ultimatly can't make their own decision. They appear so crazy to the people reading about them, but then again all the readers want to do is jump into the book and save them from this horrible world they are living in. I wish I could save all these girls in my books.

Quarterly

I enjoyed the books I read this 9 weeks, I didn't read as many as I would have liked because the books were so long. All of my books were all very interesting and different. I learned things, and I opened my eyes because of many of these books. My favorite book this nine weeks though would have to have been the Choosen One, I'm still thinking about it all the time.

Currently (Memories of Summer)

Pg. 100

Fav sentencesssss:

"She'll grow up just a'sparklin' with warmth and laughter, and the world will be a brighter place with her in it."

"Summer always did have funny ways about her, but I got so used to them, they seemed normal to me."

"‘I'll not lie to you, Lyric,' Dr. Solomon said seriously. ‘You won't ever again see that pretty, vivacious teenager who was your sister.' He didn't have to take away all of my hope. At least he could have said, ‘Hang on.' So I didn't like Dr. Solomon after that, 'cause he was the man with the watch on, and he had told me the right time."

Memories of Summer

Memories of Summer is such a powerful book about a girl and her family struggling with the disease of schizophrenia. Summer is in a constant struggle with the voices in her head. All Summer has is her sister Lyric, who's telling the story, and her father. After Summer pulls many stunts they finally decide that it's time that she gets put into an institute. Once I got to that part in the story I started to think about my friend Caity and how when she gets older she wants to work with people like Summer. This book made me think a lot about the people Caity would be dealing with, it's kind of scary, but it's her passion. But then again it's kind of cool in a way that Caity is going to be helping all of these medically insane people. She's going to see a lot of really intresting things in life.

Favorite Sentences from House Rules

"We all know that a sky with clouds in it is much more interesting than one that doesn’t have any."



“Why would I want to be friends with kids who are nasty to people like me anyway?”


"I’ve met so many parents of kids who are on the low end of the autism spectrum, kids who are diametrically opposed to Jacob, with his Asperger’s. They tell me I’m lucky to have a son who’s so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the busted microwave and have it working again an hour later. They think there is no greater hell than having a son who is locked in his own world, unaware that there’s a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own world, and still wants to make a connection. A son who tries to be like everyone else, but truly doesn’t know how."

House Rulessssssss

While I go in deeper to this book, I can't stop thinking about my sister, Bailey. Her and Jacob can relate so much with all of their life battles. Throughout this book I've hoped so much for Jacob to overcome the things that have been thrown at him, just as I wish the same for Bailey. Bailey gets something new thrown at her everyday. Her diet is a daily struggle for her. And, just like Jacob, Bailey has to deal with with the views of other people. Jacob's mind functions different than the rest of us, as Bailey's diet makes her mind function differently too. She suffers with anxiety, and she's very hyper, always bouncing of the walls. To the family, she's just Bailey, and that's her personality, but to other people she may come off as kind of weird and annoying. It's sad and frustrating that other people can't see her like we do, she has so many good qualities about her. It's true that you can't judge a book by it's cover.

House Rules

In the book, House Rules, a young boy, Jacob, has Asperger's syndrome, he's liked by so many, but one day he is accused of murder. While reading this I'm noticing a lot of the struggles Jacob has to face with his syndrome, and it only makes me think of my little sister, Bailey, who suffers from PKU. Basically her brain won't break down protien, so she's on a really special diet where she basically can't eat anything, and is forced to drink 3 cups of special formula a day. Throughout her day to day life Bailey faces so many of lifes struggles so much harder than the rest of us. Her condition makes her brain function a lot different than ours, which results in her getting picked on a lot. Although Jacob and Bailey have completly different issues, they relate together in some way, they both are drawn away from the normal joys of this world that the rest of us take for granted. Jacob and Bailey have a constant battle everyday of their life, that will never go away.

Top Favvv Claimssss.

http://forbelieberseverywhere.blogspot.com/2011/09/music-video-justin-bieber-of-course.html
I loved this claim, obviously because it had to do with Justin Bieber. I loved the way she talked about Justin, because he's clearly amazing.

http://j-momma.blogspot.com/2011/09/ushers-moving-mountains.html?showComment=1316529290267#c5492777472373257898
This claim was basically was amazing the way she explained Usher's movements and his power from his body language.

http://oliviaomb.blogspot.com/2011/09/drumline.html
I thought this claim was good because she did the movie, Drumline, which was a really good movie to observe. There's so much intensity and movement in the entire movie.

http://thatgirl-abbie.blogspot.com/2011/09/so-you-think-you-can-dance-close.html
This video was really coooooolllllll. I loved the way she talked about the passion between the two dancers.

http://bakefacespace123.blogspot.com/2011/09/bleeding-love.html
I loved this video as well. And I loved the way she talked about the chemistry between the two dancers.

Right Now

Observe:

Words- Powerful, Important, Real

Sound- Upbeat, Melodic

Appearance- Adventurous, Alert, Beautiful

Condition- Alive, Concerned, Odd, Outstanding

Infer:

Aggressive

Energetic

Explosive

Forceful

Hopeful

Impassioned

Outspoken

Sincere

Thoughtful

Dramatic

Claim:

         In this Van Halen video, Right Now, their powerful and effective use of words, livelyness and alertness of the condition of the world, and the upbeat, melodic, sound creates a outspoken and thoughtful outlook on what the world has become.

The end of The Mockingbirds

I just finished my book, and I fell in love with the very last page, which just so happened to be the authors note.
"I decided to keep speaking up. I wrote about my experiences for the school newspaper, and I heard from even more women who'd been date-raped and from others who hadn't but who were glad the school was finally listening and acting. Other universities took notice of what happened at Brown and also started changing their policies and systems for handling date rape. Things are different now, and schools are doing a better job of protecting women.
Looking back nearly twenty years later, I know my experience speaking up and listening to others was critical to my own healing and, eventually, forgiveness."
This book was so dark and deep, but it has potential to put so much awareness out there to women everywhere, of every age. The author, after doing research, was inspired to write this story due to her own experience. Some critics said that the book was inappropriate to say the least, but how can real life be inappropriate? This happens all around the world, and this book could make so many people aware, I strongly suggest reading this book.

The Mockingbirds Scene 2

As I'm finishing up this book, I'm starting to feel more and more for Alex as she struggles with the loss of her virginity. She's feeling as if someone has died inside of her, she lost someone that she can never get back. From a woman's stand point, it's easy to relate to her. Some people get that choice of who they want to loose "it" too, while others, like in Alex's case never got to choose. She had been with a boy for an entire year, and still wouldn't let him take it from her. That right there says how sacred that was to her. I'm truly feeling for Alex right now, wishing I could get back to her what was stolen.

The Mockingbirds

This book is bothering me more than it should, but I'm determined to finish it.

Poems

My top three favorite poems that we've done in class so far have been, To You by Kenneth Koch, First Kiss by April Lardner, and Dust by Dorianne Laux. The first two are about love, I loved these poems because they made me think of my boyfriend, Mario. Like the first kiss poem, obviously it reminded me of our first kiss. It's so cheesy, but our first kiss was so magical. It was the only first kiss that gave me butterflies. When I think about it to this day I still get butterflies, so the First Kiss poem gave me that special feeling inside. Staying on the subject of relationships, I like the To You poem as well, just because I thought it was adorable, and funny the things he was relating his love too. The last poem I fell in love with was, Dust. I don't know what it was about this poem, but it really made me think. It was so deep in such an undeep way...that makes no sense, but it does...to me.

The Mockingbirds

When I was in 8th grade I got my first surgery, I remember waking up panicking, I had no clue where I was at. All I could do is cry and cry and ask for my mom. Not knowing what has just happened to you after waking up is a scary thing. Alex woke up one morning laying next to a guy she didn't know, and had no recollection of the night before. Reading the first couple pages of this book made waking up from surgery feeling the way I did not so bad. Alex automatically knew that her body had been violated in ways that she didn't even want to think about. My heart broke for her. I suddenly felt so much anger for her. Although she was drunk, this boy had to have known what he was about to do, he took everything from her in the blink of an eye, and she had she had no control. It made me even more mad when she told her friend that she was basically raped by a guy she doesn't know and all she said was, "so you lost your virginity for then first time." Like who does that? If that was my friend I'd be freaking out and making sure she was okay, and then call the cops. I'm anxious to get to the end and see how Alex overcame the rape. Rape is such a scary thing to go through, and such a hard journey to overcome. I'm courious as to how she gets through the journey and I'm praying that she comes out on top.

Elsewhere

I couldn't imagine being as young as I am and just loosing my life one day. People as talk about how there's a heaven after death, but how do we really honestly know? Faith? That's it. What if we really go to a place called Elsewhere where we age backwards, not forwards, where one day we become a baby again and get sent back to earth to be reborn again. Lizzie faces a huge battle of loss after being dead. She longs to go home to everything she knew so well, i wanted her to go back to. I couldn't imagine dying at 15. You still have so much more to do.nso much more life to live. Shenhad to leave her family and everything she loved without a choice. I myself in her shoes and I couldn't bare it. Isabel and Bailey wouldn't have there older sister anymore, Jaren would have his sister to give him rides anymore, and my parents, their first child would just be gone one day. Death always makes me think about Rodney who just left this earth one night, nobody knew it was coming. Nobody got to say goodbye to him. Death always makes me wonder about what's next. When people die I always wonder if they are really watching over us like everyone says, or did they just start a new life on a different island, I'd like to tell myself that the people I've known who have past look over me, because it's comforting, but at the end of the day I guess I don't really know. All I know is what people have shoved down my throat for years. My only hope when I do go, is that its quick and painless, and that I get to have a few words with the big man upstairs so that I can see what he's all about. I think after reading Elsewhere though, heaven sounds more appealing. I want to go to an entirely new place, I want a new adventure, not something so similar to earth. And I don't want to age backwards, I don't think I would want to age at all, I would just want to be the age I was when I died. I hope when I die, I get to see Rodney, and my grandparents again. And Jess's parents. I hope I get to meet Biggie and Tupac, that's the afterlife I want, not earth.

Jenna Hoppe

You're blog is deep gurrrrlllllllllll.<3

The Chosen One

I have just finished reading a book called, The Chosen One, which is about a young girl, Kyra, growing up in a polygamist community. Soon into the book you learn that Kyra commits sins of reading, and her secret meetings with a boy, Joshua. The book explains how she falls deeply in love with Joshua, but their relationship is forbiden. Kyra doesn't get to choose who she will marry and have kids with, unlike our society. Instead, the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle. Kyra and Joshua are both deeply sickend at the thought of the idea, and Joshua vows to her that he will that to the Prophet and he will fight for them to be together, because he chooses her. Throughout this book Kyra battles with a reaccuring thought, will she be able to share Joshua with other woman? This thought made me think, I've been in a relationship for 2 years, and I've never had to think about the feelings of sharing my boyfriend, Mario, with other woman, because it's not known in the society we live in. But, then I thought, what if I was in Kyra's situation? What if I had to share the one person I love more than anything with other woman? I can't bare the thought. Kyra would have no choice though, and that bothers me. She wouldn't be able to have special moments with Joshua, because he would be sharing the same thing with other woman. I know if I was in her position, I wouldn't feel at all special. It would hurt so bad knowing that I'm just another wife to Mario, nothing special. I get jealous if a girl talks to him in a flirtatious way, I don't know how I would possibly be able to handle letting him kiss another woman, or anything like that. After speaking to my mom about how I wanted to save all those woman, she told me there was no point because they were brain washed and they thought that the way they were living was okay. It's not okay. Those woman don't have the power that the woman in "our world" do. That's not fair, it's not right. Once Joshua had confessed to the prophet that he and Kyra were having secret meetings, in result, they were both beaten and Joshua was kicked out of the community, but Kyra was behind soon after, it took a few times but she managed to run away from the life she had always known. I've never been so excited for someone in a book before. I wish every woman in her position could be saved.