Along with our semester about to come to an end, so is our blogging. We as a class have been blogging ever since the beginning of the school year and recording what we've been doing. It has been what I believe to be a great experience with lost of new learning skills and things to improve on for not only the next semester but for the rest of my high school career.
       Independent reading has been a big part of our blogging. Everyone in our class has been choosing our own novels to read which we can blog about. It has been very interesting because after seeing what everyone has read, it gives you ideas about what to read next! That is how I got the book, Brave New World that I am currently reading. This semester not including the novel I am currently reading i have read three independent novels. Almost all of these books I have either heard through mouth by my peers or through one of their blogs. It's really quite amazing what having a group of people around you can do for your reading.
     With my blog posts, I believe they have continuously progressed throughout the semester. My first blog which was my practice blog was not very effective looking back, but as I read through my first to my newest, I could tell the difference in writing over that time period. Now I know what makes an intriguing blog post. Making things conversational while still giving good information. Not so much retelling about the pages that you've read since your past post, but grabbing your readers attention by telling about a connection you might have had with your novel or telling something ironic between you and the story. There are so many ways that a blog can grab people's attention, and I hope I can continuously improve my skills to write an interesting blog.
      I have lots of goals for myself to "upgrade" my blogging skills for say and become a better blogger in general. I would have to say my biggest goal would be to share more connections between the books that I read and myself. This would possibly allow for my readers to think deeper into the information about my book for a connection they too might have. This leads me to my second goal I have for myself which is to give more important information and think outside of the box more with what I am writing about. I should add more things like description of the characters and the type of person they are. This would allow for my reads to once again relate my novel to their life. My final goal for my blog next semester is to put more meaning behind my words that i write. I want my readers to know that there is an actual person behind the words and not some robot speaking to them. All these things I can improve on in the future that will essentially benefit my writing skills as a whole.

     I haven't known what to read for a while now, but I think i've got it! For me, novels that have a lot of action and have some sort of "hero" that saves he world are my kind of books. They're just so interesting! being so anxious to turn the page is a great feeling when reading. Most of the books that I have read this year have been just like that, having a hero that saves the world. For example, in "The Lives of Tao" Tao is an alien that goes into a human that ends up saving the world from total destruction.

  

      The book that I have chosen to read or hope to read is "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. In this novel, it seems that their is a so called "perfect society" that is created but there is a hero that sees it different. Yes this sounds like every other science fiction book you have ever read, but let's be honest, you can never get enough of the amazing genre! This novel is very interesting and I have read some reviews to make sure that the novel is to my liking. Most of the reviews are positive which makes me excited to read it! I'll keep everything posted I learn about the novel and if I get my hands on it! Thanks for reading.

       This week I want to talk about a play that we have been reading in English called Romeo and Juliet. Yes everyone has heard it and most have probably read it, but for me its kin of new. not saying i've never heard of the play or that I don't know what it's about, but I have never read it or seen it in the theater.

     as of now we are still in the first act before Romeo meets Juliet, and the big fight between the Montigues and the Capulets has just happened. the prince came in and ended the fight by telling the two families that they would die if it happened again. This really startled me , considering that the prince wants to kill them over a little fight. I'm still kind of confused but I think i'm starting to understand what is going on.

I hope that this is a meaningful unit in our study and I think it will. Learning the different techniques of Shakespeare has become very interesting to me because of the way that he speaks. I'm looking forward to learning more and digging deeper into the play and it's true meaning.
Thanks for reading.

12 Yaers A Slave Overview

Hey everyone, how have you been? This blog post is going to be about my new memoir, "12 Years a Slave" by Soloman Northup. For this blog post I am doing a group project with a friend of mine, Sudar Addepaloi, a link to his blog will be down below. So lets get down to it.
http://sudarsreadingblog.blogspot.com/

To start the central idea of the book is that slavery can be brutal in many ways and shapes and should not be something that any person should have to endure. For example, Soloman explain n in his memoir that, "'In the first place, he does not deserve this treatment. It is a shame to murder him in this manner. I never knew a more a faithful boy than Platt (Soloman)" (Northup 75). There are many other examples of this horrendous punishments also given in this book.

Soloman Northup, who resided in the free state of new York, was lured down by easy money from his home to the city of Washington where he was captured and by slavers and sold into slavery. He stayed a slave for 12 years enduring many harsh punishments and having to go through many changes before finally being set free by his friends and family from the north.
    
     there is an article which will be linked at the end of this post about slavery and how many slaves in the south denied their lack of freedom. This shows that a lot of slaves in the south were actually free men that were kidnapped and sold to their masters. "Before the Civil War, nearly 4 million black slaves toiled in the American South. Modem scholars have assembled a great deal of evidence showing that few slaves accepted their lack of freedom or enjoyed life on the plantation," (Boles). This quote suggests that free black people were taken from their families and sold into the cruelty of slavery.

     Our class is reading a very interesting memoir about a boy and his life during the civil rights movement. The book is very sad along with some things that normal children would not do. This memoir covers everything from what he remembers of his grandma when he was a child, to now when he is an adult reflecting on his life. I myself think that this memoir is a peculiar read in the way that some events that occur are unthinkable in today's world.

     The author of the memoir is James McBride, who is an accomplished author and also a musician. His mother had to raise twelve kids on her own with a little help on the weekends by James' stepfather when he was a child. All twelve of the children including James are extremely successful and no long live the unpleasant life of their childhood.

  

This memoir has been interesting enough so far, and I believe it will do nothing but become even better. With the struggles that James is having at this point I think that is certain. I'm glad we are reading this as a class because I would have never chosen this book on my own but im happy with the way this book is turning out. Thank you for reading.

 

     So this week I have not read as much as I would have wanted to due to personal reasons, but I can tell everyone that I have begun to explore new books that could be potential book possibilities in the future. one of these book is White Cat, which is a novel that Chris Allgor is reading.
    in this novel, the world is dominated by people called "workers" who have the ability to destroy a person physically or mentally. this ability is very intreging to me and I hope to some time read the novel after The 5th Wave.

 

 

     Another book that I found to be interesting was a novel that Alex Acuna is reading called The Maze Runner. I know this is a very popular book that I just haven't had the time to read. also, the movie version of the novel has been released. But before I go and watch the movie I want to atleast read PART of the novel so I know what's going on.

 

     Both of these books are great reads that I will being reading later on this year. for now though, I need to get on the reading grind to finish The 5th Wave and begin a new one. Thanks for reading and next week I will come back with more information on The 5th Wave. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the novel "The 5th Wave" the setting is still set in the past, specifically during the 3rd wave. Cassie is having a flashback to times when her family was still alive. During this time, her, her father, and her brother decide to leave the camp and fend for themselves in in distopian world.

No one at the camp has seen or made contact with "the others" and people are starting to become concerned. The only thing people see of the others is when ships zoom over the camp and you barely catch a glimpse. Everyone is very oblivious to what their into and what's ahead.

This novel has brought many questions that I can only hope will be answered soon while reading. Some of these questions include things such as what happend to Cassie's father and brother considering they are not with her in the 4th wave. Also, I wonder if Cassie will learn to trust anyone again or does her life mean more to her than having someone by her side. These are all questions that hopefully are answered in my next reading.

Thank you for reading. 

       In Rick Yancy's, "The 5th Wave" the main character Cassie is described in a peculiar way. The novel describes her in two ways, the old Cassie and the new Cassie. The reason there are two sides to this girl is because the arrival of the others has dramatically changed her from what she once was.

        The old Cassie wouldn't of cared about aliens coming down to earth and wouldn't bother to find out more. she cared more about boys and other things that all girls pay attention to. But when the others came about, her normal teenage self went away and her survival instincs came in.

      She become something she wasn't. But I guess that's what it's come to. Changing yourself in order to survive is a must if you want to live in this world. Cassie finds new things everyday and she is constantly looking for other humans or "the others".
   
      Here's the trailer for the third wave out of the fives different terrors.

      Rick Yancy has created a novel that has left me spinning about all the characters and their actions they must take in order to overcome the others and bring back civilization to earth. I can only hope for both the old Cassie...and the new.

     "The 5th Wave" has been coming along very well and I have begun to understand the origins of the story. I have uncovered more of the life or Cassie before the first wave struck. She was a normal high school girl with a little brother and both parents. when the first wave hit she was at school and she watched as an airplane crashed into the ground. after the principals of the school got everyone together, her father came for her as the rest unfolded.

Here is the second wave trailer!

      
      In the second wave, the others drop a pole about three times the size of the empire state building into a crack on a tectonic boundry which creates a massive tsunami destroying all coastline cities.
this book has a lot of flashbacks to the previous waves while the fourth wave is going on in the present.
I can't wait to uncover more of this great book! stay tuned!

        I have begun to read a new science fiction novel called "The 5th Wave" and I have come to the conclusion that is quiet fascinating. With the little I have read of this book I already know about the book I can tell that it is going to be a suspenseful and nerve racking read. The cover even shows an odd man walking out of a forest out into what seems a burning city. Rick Yancey has done a great job reeling me in as a reader by giving me a confusing first couple pages which makes me want to know more.

Here's a link to Rick Yancey's website: http://www.rickyancey.com/

       Rick Yancey is an internationally published author with books in over twenty languages. He has written a collection of novels that have been upmost successful and has also written a memoir! His newest novel, "The 5th wave" has been a successful book with buzz all over the web. Down below you will be able to find the first trailer out of five that shows all the five waves. Check it out!

      I recommend this book to all teens and adults alike. this novel is confusing so far but yet so good. The tale of the long lasting girl that never gives up is inspiring.
       The wave that she is stuck in now is the 4th wave which includes the following: You can't trust anyone even yourself. You never know whether your running into a fellow survivor or one of "them". That is all I have been told so far and I can't wait to dig for more. thanks for reading.

Pracice blog

       Within my summer reading novel, there is a strong theme that is conveyed throughout the story. the theme of my novel is that with extraordinary actions and efforts, a boring unsatisfying life can change into something you never dreamed come true. This theme is well incorporated into "The Lives of Tao" and has a powerful lesson. " Roen's view on life started to change. the things that urked him before his new life forced itself upon him, but now with the help of Tao those things didn't mean much to him anymore. what really mattered to him now was his training" (Chu). This quote tells how Roen's boring life has started to change and new opportunities are opening to him. The things Roen has accomplished has drivin him into a new life.
       This chapter in the book is mostly contained of Roen's thoughts on life and a pinch of his actions to change his life even further. With the help of Tao, his thoughts are becoming more logical and understanding. He is becoming more concerned with world problems and the war between the Prophus and the Genjix. this chapter has revealed a lot to me as the reader with the characterization of both Roen and Tao.
                                                    
     This article is about the origins and review of the novel. it explains what the story is about in depth and also talks about the characterization of Roen.

The Lives of Tao article: