Slice of Life #2

Trip to Mexico, 2007
The day started out well. The cool waves flowed up the sand, and then slowly rolled back down. Our family used to visit Mexico for winter break. "Come on Hannah, you have to jump over the waves." I said. 1, "hop" 2, "hop" 3, "hop" "Oh look! Here comes a big one!" The wave towered over us threatening to consume. We started to run, but it was too late. I tried to stand up, but was pinned down underwater. Panic started to rush in. As my breath rapidly started to escape, I could here the muffled crying of my sister. It turns out the water was only 3 inches deep, but I couldn't get up because my sister was sitting on my head.

One For The Murphys

This book is by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. I choose this book originally looking for a book that would take me the week to read, but ended up finishing it in two hours. I was glued to this book, even though it was sad. This book is about a 12 year old girl named Carley, who is sent to live with the Murphy family as a foster child for a little while. Carley didn't have a great life, but she didn't realize it until she saw a real, happy family. She goes through a lot trying to discover who she is, and that isn't very easy when you are someone in her situation. I love the plot twist at the end, but it was a sad ending for me. I would recommend this book to anyone in our class, or in AS.

Slice of Life

"Dad can I open this gift from Grandma now?" "No, I am saving that one to be opened after you open a different one." He said as he hinted towards the largest gift. "I think I'll open the biggest one." I said. My dad didn't say anything, he just smiled. As I tore off the thin blue and silver wrapping paper and opened the box, there was a smaller box inside. Confused, I opened that box to find a smaller one. Now very confused, I opened box after box after box, each one about 2 to 6 inches smaller than the previous one. As I opened that next box that was about 4 by 6 inches long I discovered a small but heavy rectangle in blue and silver wrapping paper. Once the I ripped off the paper, I felt the excitement surge within me.

Limerick Poems

There once was a student from Logan
who came straight from Hoboken.
When he learned he's incurrent
for not reading Divergent,
he left lunch chokin'.

There once was a man who skied,
the bunny hill he did need.
As he missed all the cones,
and broke all his bones,
he became a polar bear's feed.

There once was a man named William
who had a head full of helium.
He once forgot to do his work
so now he is considered a jerk
now he takes bananas and peels um'.

Ocean Trash

100 feet beneath the shinning sun
Exploring searching and learning
Colors in waves shift and disappear,
With the rolling current.
Sharp spines and colorful sponges
Lined with silver.
Shining gracefully, not gracefully.
Hidden for years, quietly lost in the waves.
Waiting for the discovery
Of the three arrows.

Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men
John Steinback

This book is very quick read and has 108 pages. Though it is short, it is very well written. This book is about two friends named George and Lennie who are traveling to find a job eventually working toward buying their own land. They make friends and enemies, and go through thick and thin together. This book was very well written, but kind of confusing. For one, this book doesn't have very much of a plot line, it is more of a story. When I was reading this, I thought is was going to go in a logical direction, but then made a major "plot" twist at the end. I would recommend this book to anyone in AS, and anyone who enjoys a quick but sweet story.

Object Poem

I am not going to say what it is about, so you everyone can think it is about a different object.

Looking out and back. Back to yourself and forward in front of you, back into your mind. Discovering yourself who you are, who you want to be, and who you were. Forward into the dark future lit by the fires of innocent lives. When will it end, no one knows. Snow covered branches, bare, reach and stretch across the land looking, searching but never finding. The other slip away, gone with the shrieking wind. Curling into every corner, every place. There is no escape. When will it end, no one knows. Looking back and forward right now. What can be seen? Is it a reflection of life, or a moment of realization. A moment of change. Change what you see on the other side, change what you see on both sides. Past, present, and future all on the same plane flying over trying to escape. Escaping the cold fingers of the past crawling to seek revenge. Crawling into every mind not resting. When will it end, no one knows. Finally everything over head is gone with everything already lost. Lost in our maze of life and knowledge, finding the way out, there is no going back. Back and forth like a snake gone mad. There is no way out from the place we have created. A place lit by the fires of innocent lives. When will it end, no one knows. Human nature gone with everything that will be lost, past, present and future. Gone with the wind, the plane of time, and gone with the maze created.

Irish Curse Poem

Why you tiny wench

You gossip and sneer

May you melt off earth like snow off a ditch

You steal, but act innocent like a deer

May you have an awful itch, you conniving snitch

I know you can hear me crystal clear,

So may you be rejected like a businessman's first pitch

I wonder why you don't have one real peer, 

So you have nowhere to go like an unwanted finch

I guess I will let you have one last tear

Flowers for Algernon
By Daniel Keyes

This book is about a mentally disabled man named Charlie Gordon. He has an exceptionally low IQ for a man his age. Because Charlie wanted to become smarter, he agreed to participate in a surgery that could raise his IQ. As Charlie goes through his academic incline, he learns about who he was, who he is, and who he will be. I would recommend this book to anyone to AS. There is a little comedy, situations with ones social status, and there is self discovery. As I reading this book, Max told us to looks for symbolism. There was this one object that kept occurring throughout the book. In our book group discussions, I really enjoyed hearing about different opinions on what the symbolism represented. For anyone who wants to read this book, I would highly recommend looking for the reoccurring object and think about what it means. For me, this really added to the book. Over all, I really enjoyed this book.

Freeverse Poetry

Riding on red is
like flying
over glossy water with a rippled reflection
the calming sway inside the wake
pulled apart, yet still connected
in sequence; flash, gone,
alone

Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon

This book is about a man named Charlie Gordon. He is mentally challenged, and has an IQ of 70. He is very nice and caring, and he agrees to participate in a surgery to boost his intelligence. As his intelligence increases, his emotional levels stay the same. Because Charlie had the surgery, he is being compared, and one might say he is "mirror image" to Algernon. (The most successful "lab rat" for this surgery.) As he is growing, he mentally surpasses his friends, the scientists, and people who he met at the college campus.
So far, this has been a great book. I really like how the story is being told through his progress reports, not as third person or first person. It is told through third person, but through a different perspective. There has been a lot of symbolism in this book, and it is really important. An example would be Algernon.Charlie and Algernon both had the same surgery so there for what ever happens to Algernon, happens to Charlie. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in AS who has not already read it.

13 Gifts

13 Gifts
Wendy Mass

This book has around 330 pages, and a quick read. This is one of those books that I couldn't put down. This is one of my new favorite books for many reasons. To add to the book, she wrote it in first person. Tera is part of a group and gets in trouble for stealling a goat in the principal's office, while trying to make friends. While her parents go on a trip to Madagascar, Tera is sent to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin for the summer. She meets many friends with very strange habits and personalities. While trying to earn money, Tera is sent around town collecting strange items for a strange women. She has help from friends and has to do strange things, but she has a close deadline; her birthday. This is one of my new favorite books for many reasons. Wendy Mass put friendship, adventure, family into this great book. To add to the book, she wrote it in first person.

Olive's Ocean

Olive's Ocean
Kevin Hankes

Normally it is really tragic and scaring for someone when they find out that someone they know is dead. Martha doesn't know this girl very well, but she knows that she could have. Olive didn't really have any friends, nor did she talk much. She was killed by someone in a car who drove off after the accident. When Martha goes to visit her grandmother over summer vacation, Martha learns many things about herself. This book has some suspense and action, mystery, relationships, and self discovery. I would recommend this book to anyone in AS, and it is also a quick read. it is around 218 pages, so it is definitely a one-week book. I would give this book a three or four out of five stars because the plot line was a bit confusing.

The Edge of Nowhere

The Edge of Nowhere
Elizabeth George

This book is a two week book with 432 pages. I would not consider this a quick read, but it is one of those books you cant put down. 14 year-old Becca King was left to stay with her mom's good friend Carol Quinn. Wen tragedy strikes, she is left to make a new plan. She meets many people, and encounters crazy new things. Life would be a lot easier for her right now if she didn't posses the one ability she inherited from her grandmother; Becca is able to hear whispers. these just come from the person as if he was talking to them. I would live to say more, but I would give away too much!! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries.

The Edge of Nowhere

The Edge of Nowhere
by Elizabeth George

This book would definitely be a fiction book with mystery. Because this book is a two week book, I haven't finished it yet. this book is about a 14 year old girl named Becca King who has to go live with her mom's good friend and where an extreme amount of eye makeup and wear glasses. This is because her stepfather was a criminal. along with the eye makeup and glasses, she has to lie to everyone she meets to hide her identity. On top of this, she has inherited an ability from her grandmother; to be able to hear whispers. I think they are really neat, but Becca has to learn how to work around them. I would love to give you guys more information, but I cant give the book away and I haven't found out anything else yet. so far, it is a great book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in AS.

Ruined

Paula Morris

This book is about a girl named Rebecca, who stays with her aunt Claudia and cousin Aurelia while her dad is traveling. Since she is used to living in the big city of New York, it is hard for her to adjust to New Orleans. Even though at first she was lonely with only Claudia and Aurelia, she made a new friend; Lisette. There is one catch to this friendship, but you will have to read it yourself to figure out! I really enjoyed this book; it had suspense, and true friendship. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in AS.

The book I'm reading for the rest of this week is The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George.

Fly Girl

Fly Girl
Sherri L Smith

I would say this book is historical fiction. Fly Girl talks about the war with Pearl Harbor. While Ida Mae Jones's brother goes off to fight in the war, Ida Mae feels helpless. She is still determined to do something though. Because she enjoys flying, she wants to join the WASP's. She has many challenges and fears to overcome if she wants to do this; especially because she is considered black.
I really enjoyed this book. I really like how it was told in first person so you could really understand Ida Mae's point of view. It is about a girl who wont take no for an answer and knows how to follower her heart. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes The Lions of Little Rock. I'm not sure about The Rock and the River but probably that too.

A Mango Shaped Space
Wendy Mass

I would consider this book a realistic fiction, and a quick read. It has 218 pages, and I wasn't able to put the book down. A Mango Shaped Space is about a girl named Mia who is in middle school and is very unique. She has a rare brain function called synesthesia which automatically links letters and numbers to colors and patterns. Throughout the book Mia is trying to find out who she is and who she will be. This book talks about middle school problems, as well as letting go of things that were important to her. if you want to know more, READ THE BOOK; it's awesome! I also really liked how the author put it in third person so she could get more perspectives. It really adds to the story. I would recommend this book to anyone in AS because of varying reading levels.

The next book I plan on reading is Fly Girl by Sherri L. Smith

 

Unremembered
By Jessica Brody

This book is very futuristic and sci-fi. For those of you who are looking for a great book and a quick read, this would be the one even though it has 304 pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked I Robot or In a Heartbeat. I would give this book to anyone one in AS, but it depends on reading level you are at. Since this book was a great fit for me, I would say that it is a seventh grade reading level book. Then again, other people in sixth or eighth grade might think that its great for them.
Unremembered is about a girl who was found at the cite of a plane crash. The story on the news is that she has amnesia and can't remember anything from her past. The girl believes this until a strange boy appears in her hospital room, and tells her that its not true. Violet, (the name the hospital gave her) struggles to remember her past and fit in. As she is putting the pieces together, she realized that she was part of something bigger than she could have imagined.
I really enjoyed this book. Every page and chapter was filled with excitement and action. There was not a single filler chapter in the book. You have your classic bad guys and good guys, but there are also twists and turns that happen with them. I really liked how Jessica Brody wrote the story in "Violet's" point of view. Writing it in that POV made it seem like you were living through her problems and learning everything from the beginning just like her.

The next book I'm reading is A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.

Post 2,

The Clockwork Three
Mathew J. Kirby

I thought this book was great. There were three main characters, and I loved how their lives and stories were intertwined. As the book goes on, you can see distinctly where their stories become one, but they are intertwined even stronger than that. You will have to read the book to find out more; but one could say that part of what they do, comes from their joined backstories. The book is about these kids, each of them wants something desperately. Each of them learns that they will need to depend on their friends one time or another to get what they desire. I am not allowed to say much else, but they go on adventures. Some through forests filled with things that could mean the difference between life and death, and some are more along the lines of hiding in the city trying to find something while not becoming found yourself.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about adventure, mysteries, and true friendship. The reading difficulty in this book would be a perfect challenge for anyone in seventh or eighth grade. Then again, there are some of you sixth graders who would think this book is a great level for them.

TBR list:
The Client
The Center of Everything
The Secret Life of Bees
Shooting the Moon
Fly Girl
Divergent
Unremembered
Throat

I plan on reading Unremembered by Jessica Brody

first post

Hi this is my first blog post. My name is Briahn, and I like reading. Some of the books I like are Everlost, the Giver, and Every Soul a Star. I liked these books because of the literature and the plot lines. Each of them were different, but really great. I would recommend these books to anyone who likes fiction and books connected to reality.

Everlost:
this book is probably for kids of ages form 10-11. This was the age i read it, and it seemed fitting. This book is also very fast paced. 

the Giver:
this book is also probably for kids who are ages 10-11. even though it  was a little fast in the beginning, the put together nicely. i hope you done mind clift hangers.

Every Soul a Star:
this book was really good. i really liked how the different perspectives of the characters merged together. this book should be read by kids form the ages of 10-12. i hope others can enjoy this book as i did.