Articulo #7

Will Amari

Señorita Manuel

Q1

Kate Moss, Johnny Depp y Meryl Streep

protagonizan el nuevo vídeo de Paul McCartney 



El ex Beatle, Paul McCartney tiene mucho amigos que era muy famosa y importante. Incluso la modelo británica Kate Moss y el maravilloso actoras Johnny Depp y Meryl Streep protagonizan el nuevo vídeo de Paul McCartney. Johnny Depp, es en un largometraje de Queenie Eye.  


El músico genio, de setenta y una años, es en necesitas de un promoción de su último álbum en solitario. Sin embargo, para mi, Paul McCartney no necesita un promoción. El es muy famosa por su vejez banda de roca, El Beatles. Ellos hacen millones y millones de dólares. También ellos hacen mucho fama. ¡Sin duda Paul McCartney es una de la mayoría importante roca músicos en el mundo!


Es grande que sus amigos era celebridades. Por ejemplo, Meryl Streep y Kate Moss. Yo quiero amigos famoso. Sin embargo ellos necesitan para ser uniqo y cómico porque estoy uniqo y cómico. Yo leí el artículo porque el artículo dije Johnny Depp y Paul McCartney. Ellos son llamativo. Me gusta la musica de Paul McCartney y Johnny Depp es un buen actor. Yo aprendí que Paul McCartney tiene un nuevo vídeo y el tiene un nuevo álbum. Mi favorita álbum es Paul McCartney es Ram. Yo quiero más álbumes de Paul McCartney.


word count: 206


http://spanish.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=spanish&cdn=education&tm=192&f=10&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.abc.es/


Benchmark Book Review Crank

Book Review 

The book Crank was recommend to me by my Student Assistant Teacher Alisha Clark.  I really wasn’t sure that this type of novel told in verse form was anything I would like, since normally it’s not my thing.  So, imagine my surprise when I started reading it and found myself sucked into the story to the point where I could not put this book down. 

Ellen Hopkins wrote Crank in 2004.  She once said in a interview that her book is somewhat based on her life and things that she went through. I always thought that when writing books, a lot of authors really don’t like to express their feelings too much because some feel like they don’t want to be looked down on or judged.  I feel like we learn lessons from reading books like this, and even though we go through things doesn’t mean others have not lived it.  From reading this book, I’ve seen how families can overcome things for the better and the worse. The book was written from the point of view of Kristina, which sounds like the point of view of the author.  I liked how the author didn’t use a lot of characters and told it mainly from Kristina’s point of view. Each and every night, Kristina sat down and expressed her self about the “monster” and how it made her feel when she was not at her highest point, like how she felt when taking the drugs.  It made me have an understanding about the people who take do crack and pop pills. It showed me that they would do anything just to get high and feel like the person that is inside them would only be expressed when they are high.

I had a few opinions on the plot of Crank.  I didn’t understand why the mother let her child go stay with her father knowing that he was addicted to crack and smoking anything that can get him high. It’s funny because it stated how the mother left him just to get away from it and then to put her child with a person who has a tough time dealing with their own problems. The main character Kristina seemed like she is trying to be someone that she is not. I believe that the author gave her a alter ego name Bree, Bree was the other person inside Kristina’s mind, she was the loud mouthed one and she didn’t care what anybody had to say about her. Then Kristina started talking to Buddy, a boy she met when she was with her father.  I didn’t like how she seemed so easy, it seemed like she’ll do anything for him just to make him happy.  Noticing how Buddy introduces Kristina to drugs, It made me think that the father wanted to have his daughter and her friend on drugs, so that he could join them or have company. I didn’t like that at all. It made me look at him like he is a drug freak and would do anything just to get high. Then for Kristina, who thinks it was okay to do what any man tells her to do. It seems like Kristina wanted to find love, but just was looking in all the wrong places.

This book was written for young girls who think they are out here alone and feel like there’s no one that they can talk to.  Even though we look down on and say that people who do drugs are wrong, I believe that it just some way of how people express their ways. For example, if someone feels like an unwanted child, they may turn to drugs.  People need to have a better understanding of what is happening when it comes to reading books.  Some of us read books just to read them and other read books to learn how to overcome their problems. From reading this book, I came to the point that I learned how to deal with things and I don’t have to do drugs or take anything because from learning what Kristina went through, I know what these types of drugs can do to you.

I would give this book four stars out of four stars because I love how Ellen Hopkins writes some of her book in poetry form.  The overall mood of the story was relieving because of how Kristina grew from being a young teenager to a an adult.   There is a surprise at the ending for the reader that is unexpected.  Throughout the story she overcame her struggles.  After reading this book, I think Ellen Hopkins told a good story and did a good job doing it.  I think the way Ellen Hopkins ended the story was a good setup for the reader to get the message across that the mistakes that Kristina made so that other young girls would not make the same mistakes as well.


Works Cited


Hopkins, Ellen.  Crank.  New York : Simon & Schuster , 2004 . Print .


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank_(novel). Wikipedia, Crank.  Website.



   



   

    




When the winter came , I felt you calling my name. didn’t  know how to express the pain. Your was controlling me, would let me be the person I am when I feel the monster inside,
 I feel like this person taking my body but controlling my mind . and I like it.
 I didn’t care who see me, I didn’t care about what anybody to say, I just wanted to get high. 
So hard not be able to express me. Good girls ain’t no fun, and the bad girl are just trying to fuck.
Knowing me Im trying all I want to do was be a bad ass and get high. 
The emotion I feel cant no one take it way from me. I was just a fool. 
Knowing that I should go  even when I PACK MY BAG SOMETHING ALWAYS HOLDS ME BACK.

English Benchmark

​ 

Book review of “Crash ( Vision #1)”

The novel “Crash” written by Lisa McMann is the beginning of a book serie which is called “Vision”. It is also a kind of love story and kind of mystery

The main character of this book is called Jules Demarco ,her parents are the owner of an italian family restaurant. She lives together with her parents and her two siblings,Rowan her younger sister and her older brother Trey, in the apartment over the restaurant. After school they help most time their parents in the restaurant because it was always in her family that the children have helped their parents in this. Also her parents thinks that her brother Trey drives Jules and her little sister with a truck which has meatballs in the top, every morning to school. But Trey don’t really want to do this so he gives her every week 10 Dollar to drive the truck to school.Her parents thinks that the meatball truck is a good advertisement but it’s more a kind of embarassing for their children. To the normal stress which comes when you owned a restaurant comes the fact that her family is since years in a big fight with the Angotti’s family which also owns a Italian restaurant and which have stolen a special recipe from the Demarco family. Another problem from here is that she loves Sawyer Angotti since she is little and that she is not allowed to love him.  To all of her teenage and family problems comes on really special problem: She see the Vision how a truck crash into a house and after the accident they are laying seven white backs with deads bodies in the snow.

After a short time it starts getting really personal for her because she see the face from one of the dead bodies, it is her big love Sawyer. The boy which has start stop speaking with her from one day to the other day in seventh grade. The boy which she will never be allowed to love.

This vision following her always. She see it when she is sitting in the car on the way to school and look on a screen or if she just want at home and want to see TV and nobody else can see this vision. After a short time she decided to do something to stop the accident but she no idea where she can start or how she get anyone to believe to her. So she start try to figure out where it will happened or why and what she can do to stop it.

This book is more about the love story between Jules and Sawyer than about the accident and the Vision which Jules has. I had hoped more that it would be a more mystery than that it would be a love story. But on the other side I loved her kind of writing a book. She has written it so that in the book where some really sad moments but there were also some moments where you was really excited and also there was some moments where you just had the book in the hand and can’t stop laughing because some parts was so fun.

All in all she has written in a really interesting  way which was for me the reason that after I have start reading the book that I couldn’t but it away.

You will really enjoy to read mystery books which have a big touch of love stories and which are written in a varied way.

Lisa McMann was born on February 27. 1968 in Michigan U.S. . Since 2004 she lives together with her husband Matt and her two children Kilian and Kennedy in the near of Phoenix, Arizona.

On of her most famous book is Wake which is the beginning of a trilogy.

The book “crash” is the beginning of another book serie and was published on January 8 2013.

Lisa McMann writes in general books for children and teenagers and short stories which are more for adults.


Bibliography:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_McMann

https://www.google.com/search?q=Lisa+McMann+Lebenslauf&oq=Lisa+McMann&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j69i61j0j69i60j0.5261j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=91&ie=UTF-8#es_sm=91&espv=210&q=Lisa+McMann





Girl saved lives

Yesterday the 13.2 one day before Valentin's day Jules Demarco which is a really amazing Girl have saved many lives. Her older brother Rowan report about it in an exclusive interview what exactly was happened. She was on the way to deliver food to customers when she has made a break to pick him up. This break was in the near of Angotti's and it was also their look because when she was on the parking lot she has seen the truck driving with high speed on the street on the direct way to crash into the restaurant. So Jules had a really good reaction and has taken their truck which has big meatballs on the top and has driven backward into the other car to stop him. The driver of the other car had a heart attack and died which was the reason why he lost his control over the car. All in all Jules has done it and have stop the truck and have saved many lives with this action but she was for a few in the hospital. 

But she didn't risk her live to save the restaurant from anyone no she has done this to save the restaurant from the biggest competitor of her parents restaurant. 

Book Review: Macbeth

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Screen Shot 2013-10-25 at 11.35.09 AM
​Here is the link to the audio of my Creative Piece.

The world of the legendary storyteller William Shakespeare is at his best when he tells the breath-taking story about a Thane and his betrayal of honor towards the unlikelihood of him becoming the king. The themes of ambition and ruthless power bring out the true colors of the anti-hero.

William Shakespeare, the profound writer, poet and playwright is considered the all time best English language writer. Macbeth was just one of his many classic plays. Shakespeare has written many renowned stories from Romeo and Juliet, the story of two lovers from different worlds, to the story of Othello “The Moor of Venice”, as he brings classical themes together like racism and jealously. He died over 300 years ago and his plays are still related to the present issues we have in our culture today. The format and genre of the book is written as a script, in which the characters and the plot is given through the characters dialogue. The book was published in the year 1623 in a folio. Folio is a Shakespearean term for a series of collected literature.Blood and tears follow him, and the guilt of his unworthy deed costs him his companions lives. The wild grass hides the snake in its charlatan schemes. The two have a zealous soul and little do they know they can’t withstand the ramifications of their dishonored act.


Macbeth is said to be brave and honorable, but he struggles with these characteristics throughout the entire play. Three witches give him a prophecy that he will become the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, his wife, wants the prophecy to become reality. Her masculine ambition yokes that of her husband’s. She concocted a devious plan to allow her beloved Macbeth to become King. Lady Macbeth is introduced already planning the death of Duncan, the Scottish King. Macbeth questions himself, when he realizes he must take his own king’s life. Lady Macbeth then manipulates him by questioning his valor and spirit. Macbeth, now in a power struggle feels he needs to prove himself. So he puts all his objections to the deed aside and performs the “manly task”.


The play meets my various expectations. Such as having great dialogue, its ability can to pull me in and catch my attention, starting at the first page. It grabs your ideas and thinking to make you imagine. Another expectation I have is there beautiful words and detail. It gets a kudos for the descriptive details and great usage of words. Shakespeare a genius at work who encourages you to analyze his work.  The book is for readers that have some ideal thoughts on life and have many questions about what's right and wrong. I questioned ideas and themes in the play. For example, a controversial theme in the play was the lust for power and strive to make that power possible. In Macbeth's case, he was willing to kill to advance himself to the throne. Other themes that leave readers puzzled is the masculinity of the woman in the play. Lady Macbeth and the three witches that gave Macbeth the prophecies all jolt a act of violence in his actions. These actions in a woman are uncommon and that's why it puzzles so many readers. The play is full of pages with pure accuracy and detail, giving the reader a new perspective of regret. Which leads to aggressive power. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feed off each other and that’s how they completed the task of killing Duncan, the Scottish King.


The novel reveals ideas and details that you can never imagine. It’s a classic play that’s is renowned around the world. It teaches you things you would never know about yourself. After reading this play I knew how I was going to approach the world and what flaws i needed to make about myself. Because like Macbeth everyone has ambition or goal. But you can not let it lead you into the valley of darkness and evil. The book can help you make decisions in the future about power and ambition; to teach you how these qualities work together. The book may be a hard read for people who are not use too old readings. For example, the book uses words that are not used in the modern day text. In the book that the play is in the book is organized so that if you understand the dialogue. So there is a nice way you can understand the plot. Macbeth is wonderful plot that you should give a chance.



Title

Author

Publishers

Date of Publication

Number of Pages

Genre

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

John Heminges

and Henry Condell

1623

193

Tragedy


The Fault in Our Stars

Untitled

This is a redesigned book cover for the book. I put my favorite quote from the book in the background, and just reformatted the lettering.


I’ve always wondered what the hype was about this John Green guy. I’m a regular on tumblr a blogging website. The links and ravings about his books and the author himself were just flooding my dashboard a mile a minute. This wasn’t the first time something had blown up on the website like this, especially something about books. Of course with the majority of Tumblr being avid readers, there was bound to be one or more book reviews. But this was alarming, the amount of praise this guy got. The book I saw the most buzz about was The Fault in Our Stars. So of course when it came time to pick a choice book, I had something to look forward to.


The Fault in Our Stars, or TFIOS for short, is about the life of a girl who has lung cancer. She can’t attend school because of her sickness so her friends soon become obsolete. She has to attend this meeting/group with other kids who have cancer. There she meets a boy who had his leg amputated because of bone cancer. Soon they become friends and then fall in love, the standard plot for a young adult novel. But the way the author went about it was captivating and completely different from what I have ever read before.


With most reviews I read about The Fault in Our Stars, a lot of people mentioned that this wasn’t John Green’s story to write. It would of made more sense for a cancer survivor to be talking about being a teenager and dealing with the harsh realities of cancer. But I did some research and found that he actually worked in a hospital for sick children. This inspired him to become an author, and those experiences formed the The Fault in Our Stars. This made me have so much more of a love for this book since it was unbiased and came from actual experiences, seeing how these kids lived with one foot in the grave.


Overall the book was beautifully written, keeping me interested through the ups and downs of the plot. It’s hard for a book to keep me interested for so long; that’s why I don’t tend to read things unless it’s a short story or a news article. But this book surprised me completely, with it’s complex characters and realities that aren’t saccharine. What really kept me reading was the limited amount of description. I tend to doze off when I read three chunky paragraphs about how the wind affects the trees. The outside description was kept minimal and focused more on human interaction and inner monologues, which I tend to appreciate more.


I especially loved the characters in this book. For teenagers, they were complex and interesting, their personalities and quirks not seen in most teenagers. Usually young adult novels about teenagers depict them as hormonal, unintelligent beings that live off of drama and the media, influenced by absolutely anything. To be honest, it’s not that far from the truth, but only a small population of teenagers are actually like that. Most of us are actually smart and have a lot more common sense than what we’re credited with. But here, the teenagers were actually decently intelligent and acted like mature people. As a fellow teenager, I really appreciated this and felt like we as a whole were being respected as human beings. However, they only thing that threw me off was the amount of complex and poetic conversation that was going on. We may be intelligent, but we don’t use poetic and novel references. Let’s be honest here: none of us talk like that at all. Yes, we have serious conversations that might dwell into some bigger issues and actually come out with an epiphany about the human race and society. But that doesn’t happen during every single conversation, especially to other teenagers. However, the romance that blossomed between the two main characters felt pretty realistic. Most teenage romance is full of awkward glances and awkward times together. But these two had a special connection: they both had cancer. I’m sure that connection made their romance a bit different, but strong than the standard teen romance.


What really made me love this book was that the reality of cancer was real. I’ve personally never knew anyone with cancer. It’s always been diabetes and heart problems for me, since both run in my family quite frequently. The deaths feel the same, since the death of anyone no matter the way the went feels horrible. But what I find different with cancer (or what I’ve heard about it) is that you can just see the person deteriorating from the inside out. They look absolutely fine one day, but then they get deathly sick the next, their cancer coming back to haunt them once more. In this novel, the threat of dying was always felt and was completely real. Most novels about sickness and disease tend to downplay this, focusing on how strong and happy the characters are, like their lives wouldn’t end at any moment. The characters in this book however always recognize that their lives can end at any moment, and live accordingly. They don’t ever talk about hope, in fact they’ve stated that they are hopeless and always expect to die at some point. They weren’t strong, they were real.


I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes young adult novels with a  twist, especially a grim one. I think this book would suit teenagers and adults alike. For teenagers it would be a relief to see that someone actually treats us with respect and depicts us somewhat realistically. For adults it would be nice to show that kids can be intelligent human beings with complex emotions that have meaning behind them. The twist and turns will keep anyone interested for a long enough time to finish the book and crave more. Similarly, Green’s Looking for Alaska is amazing as well, with the same complexity revisited. Honestly all of Green’s novels are amazing, and great for anyone to read.


Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author : John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Publication : 10 January 2012

# of pages : 313

Genre : Young Adult


Artículo respuesta #7

Betty Louis Q1

Senorita Manuel

En este articulo actores perder peso en cines en general. Este artículo habla la pérdida de peso de Jake Gyllenhaal. Jake Gyllenhaal en la foto después la pérdida de peso es muy guapo. Yo pienso Jake Gyllenhaal es guapo sin la pérdida de peso. Él es siempre atractivo. La artículo dije que actores siempre  perder peso pero yo no entiendo por qué se debe. Todos los actores son bonitas y guapos la forma son están. ¿Por qué debería ellos tener cambiar para un papel en una película? El artículo no dice que todos los celebridades hacer esto pero hay un patrón. El artículo también muestra fotos de celebridades en otras transformaciones asombrosas del cine despues pérdida de peso. Yo escogí este artículo porque me gusta leer sobre celebridades. Sus vidas son interesante. Desde Jake Gyllenhaal es muy guapo con su ojos azules tuve que escoger este artículo. Si yo fue su esposa yo diría “Usted están perfecto como eres!” Entonces me gustaría abrazo y beso él. Si yo fue su esposa él pensaría que él es maravilloso. Sin embargo, el artículo dije al final que “Christian Bale; quien no es extraño a transformarse físicamente, aumentó algunos kilogramos”. Finalmente, un celebridad quien no le importa sobre pérdida de peso no más.

Word count: 210

"La Pérdida De Peso De Jake Gyllenhaal Y Otras Transformaciones Asombrosas Del Cine." CNN En Espaol Ultimas Noticias De Estados Unidos Latinoamrica Y El Mundo Opinin Y Videos RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2013/10/24/la-perdida-de-peso-de-jake-gyllenhaal-y-otras-transformaciones-asombrosas-del-cine/>.

The Spectacular Now

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Screen Shot 2013-10-24 at 10.41.38 PM


​For my creative project I decided to do a collage. Now this might look like a whole bunch of scattered pictures of things but they all have a deeper meaning. The yellow dress is what Aimee wore to the Prom with Sutter, the Tree is representing one of the oping scenes in the book, which is Sutter climbing a tree, half drunk. The horse is something that Aimee talks about a lot in the book a lot, about buying a horse ranch. The red cup is for all the drinking that Sutter does throughout the book and how he turned Aimee onto drinking. The tall building represents the Chase building that Sutter claimed his father worked in. The 7-up logo is for Sutter’s mixing of whisky and 7-up, the Flask is the gift that Sutter gave Aimee, the marijuana leaf represents Sutter’s friend Ricky and the weed that he smoked. The NASA logo represents Aimee wanting to work for them, The Mars plant is representing the Sy-Fi books that Aimee read about outer space.The purple coat is another thing that Aimee wore, the lipstick represents the lipstick that Aimee wore when Sutter was around. The Algebra book represents the class the Sutter’s was failing and how they both grew closer, the whisky bottle represents all the whisky that Sutter drunk throughout the book. The news paper is representing the paper route that Aimee worked. And the cast represents the accident that happened and what it lead to. 


The Spectacular Now, by Tim Tharp is not your average run of the mill teenage love story. It follows a high school senior named Sutter Keely, who doesn't really care about school, but what comes after you done with school. Sutter also as a small drinking problem, alcohol of choice being whisky. Even with all this Sutter is a good person at heart. Sutter is also a lady’s man always has a girlfriend but never really keeps them. When Sutter current girlfriend, Cassidy breaks up with Sutter because of his lack of responsibility it sends him over edge. Until he meets Aimee, a blonde girl that always lets people walk over her. Sutter is convinced that he can help her stand up for herself, but ends up falling for her.   

I came over this book in a english after watching the trailer for the movie that was just made, and I made a vow not to watch the movie until I read the book. Me myself being a movie person I thought I would not be able to finish the book, but once I picked it up I didn’t want to put it down. The book had this suspense to it, not like a thriller but you just had to know what happened next, Sutter had so many different thoughts on things you just had to know what he thought, and what was going on in his head anytime something happened. He had a opinion even on the simplest things like the color of a lipstick. 

Tim Tharp the author of Knights of the Hill Country, Badd, and Mojo did a great good with this book. He took a character that he could have just easily made him this crazy alcoholic, high school teenager but he didn’t. He took the character on a journey and the only reason this happened was because of Aimee. He turned Sutter complete around but yet her stay the same Sutter. Tim Tharp shaped the book around Sutter not Sutter around the book. In one of Tharp’s interviews he says that he develop to character Sutter from a short story he wrote when he was younger about a rebellious young guy that end up at a dinner party.  I think that a lot of people would be happy to read this book.

I feel like you would enjoy this book if you like teenage love story, but not too mushy. It is like The Notebook meets Project X, it’s love story with the usual teenage stuff, sex, drugs, and drinking. With the jobs problems, school problems, and parent problems. I feel like you would enjoy this book no matter what gender, this book broke the gender stereotype for me. Saying girls like love stuff and boys like action and partying and things like that. I think a boy would enjoy this book just as much as a girl would. 

The Spectacular Now has taken the place as my favorite book I wish I could forget the whole book and read it again. I took me a while to finish the book but once I got really into I was binge reading. I read 100 pages at a time I could not put it down, I’m general a slow reader but not for this book.

I completely suggest reading the book before watching the movie, from what people have told me the book and the movie are really different. The author Tharp was on the set the whole time the movie was being shot, he said some scenes that he saw get shot did not make it into the movie. But in an interview Tharp said he was very happy they way the movie turned out. He loved the people that where casted to play parts. One major twist in the movie is that Sutter best friend Ricky, in the book is the same age as Sutter, but in the movie he is a little kid. I have still yet to see the movie but I am looking forward to it. 

I would suggest this book to everyone unless you real aren’t in to any type of realistic fiction, but other than that I would say find it somewhere and read it.    


Book- The Spectacular Now
Pages- 294
Author- Tim Tharp
Publication Date - Oct 20, 2009
Publican- Ember 



  
 

Artículo Semana Siete (con Zack Hersh)

Zack Hersh & Andrew Roberts Spanish Reflection 7

Señorita Manuel

Envío de remesas tendrá nuevas regulaciones


Muchas personas contan en y usan los servicios de remesas para dar dinero a familia y amigos en paises otras. Muchas personas vivan en los Estados Unidos que son y tienen familia de un país otra. Este es porque es más facil para hacer dinero aquí. Entonces, ellos pueden mandar el dinero que ellos hacen a su país original para soportar su familias aquel. Este trabaja bueno, pero hay unos problemas. Muchas veces, el dinero que ellos tienen en los Estados Unidos como dolares son valor menos cuando estan cambiado dentro de la moneda corriente del pais. Por ejemplo, un hombre podria hacer ciento dolares en los Estados Unidos, pero cuando el mandarlo a su familia en otra pais, lo podria ser valor noventa dolares en lugar de ciento.  


Pero ahora hay noticias buenas para ustedes. Habrá nuevas regulaciones para los envíos de remesas. Estas regulaciones tienen reglas más claras y precios  más competitivos. Mandando dinero a su familia en otras países va a ser mucho más fácil y más barato en el futuro. Estas regulaciones va a implementarse en el veintiocho de octubre.


Las regulaciones incluyen los consumidores pudiendo aprender sobre el tipo de cambio y cuánto dinero será entregado a sus familias antes de hacer la transacción. Ademas ellos pueden cancelar la transacción dentro de los treinta proximos minutos.


Está bueno que tenemos estas regulaciones.  Personas en los Estados Unidos mandar mucho dinero a su familia, especialmente a latinoamérica.  Un estudio del Banco Mundial dice que mandamos sesentaocho billones por año a las familias en latinoamérica, y va a ser más el los años futuros.


Parace que cada semana leyes y regulaciones que benefician el comunidad española se pasan. Es muy bueno y siempre cambiando y convirtiendo más bueno.


290 Palabras


"Latino News and Opinion." Envío De Remesas Tendrá Nuevas Regulaciones - . N.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.


Zack Hersh (& Andrew Roberts) Article 7

Zack Hersh & Andrew Roberts Spanish Reflection 7

Señorita Manuel

Envío de remesas tendrá nuevas regulaciones


Muchas personas contan en y usan los servicios de remesas para dar dinero a familia y amigos en paises otras. Muchas personas vivan en los Estados Unidos que son y tienen familia de un país otra. Este es porque es más facil para hacer dinero aquí. Entonces, ellos pueden mandar el dinero que ellos hacen a su país original para soportar su familias aquel. Este trabaja bueno, pero hay unos problemas. Muchas veces, el dinero que ellos tienen en los Estados Unidos como dolares son valor menos cuando estan cambiado dentro de la moneda corriente del pais. Por ejemplo, un hombre podria hacer ciento dolares en los Estados Unidos, pero cuando el mandarlo a su familia en otra pais, lo podria ser valor noventa dolares en lugar de ciento.  


Pero ahora hay noticias buenas para ustedes. Habrá nuevas regulaciones para los envíos de remesas. Estas regulaciones tienen reglas más claras y precios  más competitivos. Mandando dinero a su familia en otras países va a ser mucho más fácil y más barato en el futuro. Estas regulaciones va a implementarse en el veintiocho de octubre.


Las regulaciones incluyen los consumidores pudiendo aprender sobre el tipo de cambio y cuánto dinero será entregado a sus familias antes de hacer la transacción. Ademas ellos pueden cancelar la transacción dentro de los treinta proximos minutos.


Está bueno que tenemos estas regulaciones.  Personas en los Estados Unidos mandar mucho dinero a su familia, especialmente a latinoamérica.  Un estudio del Banco Mundial dice que mandamos sesentaocho billones por año a las familias en latinoamérica, y va a ser más el los años futuros.


Parace que cada semana leyes y regulaciones que benefician el comunidad española se pasan. Es muy bueno y siempre cambiando y convirtiendo más bueno.


290 Palabras


"Latino News and Opinion." Envío De Remesas Tendrá Nuevas Regulaciones - . N.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.

Article Response #7

Lauren Thomas      Q1

Senorita Manuel


Una Explosión en Ciudad Juárez


En el veinte y cuatro de octubre, un jueves, por la tarde, al menos cincuenta personas han resultado heridas y dos han muerto. Este accidente estaba en un fábrica de dulces de Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua, al norte de México). La fábrica tenía trescientos trabajadores a la hora de el explosión. El tejado de la segunda planta se derrumbó y un muro también quedó destruido. Había también un fuego. A causa de este fuego, muchas personas no pudieron ser rescatados. Unas treinta unidades de equipos de rescate llegaron a la fábrica. El gobernador de Chihuahua, César Duarte, dijo sobre sus Twitter esta  los heridos están en muchos hospitales. La fábrica pertenece a la American Blueberry Company.


Yo quiero saber lo que causó este explosion de una caldera a la fábrica de dulces. ¿La fábrica de dulces tenían precauciones de seguridad?


Yo aprendido nueva vocabulario de este artículo. Yo aprendido que derrumbó es “collapsed” en Inglés y que rescatistas es “rescuers” en Inglés.


Yo decidí escribir sobre este artículo porque no se aprende de estos accidentes en las noticias. Está triste cuando muere la gente.


Es curioso que el gobernador dio noticias de importantes a través de Twitter y no hablar en público.



WORD COUNT : 201



"Una Explosión En Una Fábrica En Ciudad Juárez Deja Dos Muertos Y 50 Heridos." EL PAÍS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/10/25/actualidad/1382658547_650824.html>.


El Sumario Siete

Sieanna Williams                                                                                                  Q1

Srta. Manuel


El aborto como método anticonceptivo en Cuba


Cuándo yo ví esto titulo, yo estaba en shock. Incluso yo sé que aborto no es un método de anticoncepción. Anitcepción es cuándo tú quieres prevenir el embarazo. Aborto es cuándo tú, para la falta de una palabra mejor, mata su ya concibió bebe. Aboto no prevenió conceptión. El artículo dijo que,

mujeres cubanas de entre 15 y 54 años ha tenido al menos un embarazo que acabó en aborto provocado o en una regulación menstrual.”

¿En serio? Aunque hay que respetar la decisión de mujeres que quieren abortar sus bebés, es sin duda ridículo usar aborto como un anticoncepción. Eso no tiene sentido. Personalmente, yo no creo en el aborto para yo mismo. Yo sé que yo no podría manejar manta mi bebe–la adopción tampoco. Yo no puedo imaginar matando mi bebe o lo regalando a un otra familia. Lo me asusta. Eso es la razón principal que yo no quiero tener el sexo hasta que me voy a casar, y yo soy muy cómodo decir eso a la gente.

Yo pienso que los adolescentes en esta generación tienen el sexo porque de la presión ser como adultos. Esta la lástima ver muchos chicas, que son más joven de yo, teniendo bebés ante ellas se graduaron escuela intermedia. Yo rechazo tener 16 años y embarazada. Yo tengo demasiado muchos metas en mi vida permitir sexo para mí y qué yo quiero hacer en el futuro. El embarazo no es un experiencia mágica para esposos, es una tendencia de adolescentes.

Yo entiendo que la gente van a hacer que ellos quieren hacer, pero yo no puedo ayudar sentir triste para niños que pierden sus vidas porque ellos tuvieron sexo y accidentalmente se convirtieron en embarazada, o como las mujeres cubanos, practican aborto como un método anticoncepción, y cuándo ellas finalmente quieren tener un bebé, ellas no pueden porque los muchos abortos causan “un "alto" índice de infertilidad femenina” como en Cuba.

~~~

PALABRAS: 321

EFE. "El Aborto Como Método Anticonceptivo En Cuba." El Aborto Como Método Anticonceptivo En Cuba - . AL DIA News, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.



Book Review: Snow by Tracy Lynn

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About the artwork:

For my creative piece I chose to remake the book cover of the book Snow by Tracy Lynn, which is the book that I reviewed. In the artwork, I drew the evil stepmother holding a sleeping Snow White in a glass ball. Inside the glass ball is falling snow. The evil stepmother holding the glass ball with Snow White in it, represents that she has a hold of Snow's life. Snow encased in the glass ball represents that she's trapped, and she's asleep from the evil stepmother's spell over her. Lastly, the falling snow in the glass ball represents who Snow is, and how she got her name. 



There have been many retellings of Snow White. In fact, there have been so many retellings of it, that it’s hard to choose which one to read. Some retellings aren’t that much of a retell of the original story, and some are based loosely on it. Snow by Tracy Lynn is in between that.  Tracy Lynn is the author of many young adult novels. Before she wrote young adult novels, she published adult horror stories under her real name, Liz Braswell. Although she is known as Liz Braswell, her full name is Elizabeth J. Braswell. She chose the name “Tracy Lynn” for her young adult novels. She also produced many video games. A few years later, she published The Nine Lives of Chloe King series under a second faux name, Celia Thomson. Liz Braswell was born in Birmingham, England. She graduated from Brown University, and she earned a degree in Egyptology. She is currently married, and she lives in East Village. Her books, The Stolen, and The Fallen won the ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. The Fallen also won the NYPL Books for the Teen Age award.

Tracy’s book, Snow, gives the same scenario of the real Snow White; Mother dies, father raises child all by himself until he marries, the woman he marries turns out to be an evil witch, the witch wants to eat Snow’s heart, etc., but it adds a twist. The storyline goes like this: There once was Duke and Duchess, who needed an heir to the throne, preferably a son. And so, the duchess had a child, and unfortunately she died from the childbirth. Instead of a baby boy, this left the Duke alone with a baby girl who he was not happy about. Wanting to have nothing to do with her, her father ignored Jessica for almost her entire life, leaving Jessica under the care of her maids. Like Snow White, Jessica is very fond of small animals, and found comfort in them. Soon after, Jessica’s father finds a beautiful duchess to marry, but looks can be deceiving. The duchess has some evil plans of her own, and is willing to threaten Jessica’s life to achieve them. This story takes place in Wales, which is a country that is apart of the United Kingdom, and it also takes place in London. The Author uses languages that has a mixture between English and Scottish accents in the book,”...Ah, a girl, Gwen. It’s a long story. A lass from the pub the next town over.” Her use of language gave me a really good idea of how the characters sounded. “... “What, this?” With a violence unnatural to him, Alan viciously kicked the bag, scattering the coins all over the floor. “I cannae make songs out of this rubbish!”...”

One of the major themes that the Author focused on in the book is how society views women. In the book, the evil stepmother’s main focus is being the most beautiful woman of the land, and maintaining her youth. During a conversation with Jessica (Snow), she shared her thoughts on what women were only wanted for in society, “....Society only has two uses for women, remember that. Beautiful young girls and mothers.”..... “Be one or the other, or both, but not neither. No one wants an old hag. Or a trollop.” What she is saying is that society will only accept you if you fit into their criteria. I admired how the Author used a real world issue, and placed it in a fairytale. This made the book connect easily to the real world even though it’s fiction.

Honestly, what sparked my interest in even getting a Snow White book was seeing the movie, Snow White and the Huntsman. The movie was so good that I developed this Snow White addiction. So, I went book hunting on Amazon for a Snow White book, and that’s when I came across the book Snow. I didn’t know what to expect from the book, but I did want an action packed-thriller, a lot like Snow White and the Huntsman. It didn’t quite meet that criteria, but I enjoyed it anyway. The last thing the book had was violence. The way Snow White was portrayed in Snow White and the Huntsman, was not the way Liz portrayed the Snow in this book. The Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman stood up to the queen, and fought her. The Snow in the book ran away from the queen when she discovered that the queen was going to murder her. “...What if the duchess tried to kill her again? Snow panicked for a moment at what she had begun, images of the tall and frightening duchess looming over her with knives and candy-sweet smiles.” Instead, the book had a quirkiness to it, and that’s what intrigued me the most about Snow. “Her fingers entwined in his hair and fathers, and she remembered the ravens she used to watch from her window...”

I recommend this book to anyone of any age, who enjoys fantasy. Whether you are someone who is looking for a fun, quick read, or if you just need a book for school. Liz does a fantastic job by engaging you in the book, and making you feel like you are on the adventure with the main character, Jessica. Snow will not disappoint you. It will take you back to a victorian aged world, full of magical surprises, a little twist, and a bit of romance.



            Snow By Tracy Lynn, Simon Pulse, 2003, 259 pages, Fantasy


It's Kind of a Funny Story book review


       Nearly 1 in 6 high school students has seriously considered suicide, and 1 in 12 has attempted it. The book I was reading for my Q1 English BM and find it really interesting is call “Its Kind of a funny story by Ned Vizzini” It's also about teens. I loved this book. It is about teens and it discusses suicide, sex and more, but it is a great book with an important message. Sometimes you have to get all the way to the bottom of the barrel before you can get back to the top. When you read this book you can experience all the stragglers teens go through in their high school/college years. All the pressure that sometime they start to feel that suicide is the easy way out off all this.


          Its not always just study that pressure teen to suicide but most of the time is bullying that effect the most. In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the US and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and suicide. Though too many adults still see bullying as "just part of being a kid," it is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for victims, including suicide.


Many people may not realize that there is also bullying include in teens committing suicide. Teen suicide is a very real problem in the United States and all over the world. With many pressures and a variety emotional, social and family issues to confront, many teenagers find themselves having suicidal thoughts. Part of averting a teen suicide is being involved in your teen’s life and watching for teen suicide warning signs.


            

It is also important to note that many of the teen suicide warning signs are also indications of depression. And it is important that around this time of your life you need to be around the people who love and care about you, also enjoy every moment of your life because our life is too small to be depressed and do something stupid like suicide. Thats what this book is about when the main character in the book go to a hospital for his depression problem he meet a lot of new people and became their friends thats when he realize how fun and beautiful life is. Its not always full of stress and pain everything will be OK at the end but its not than its not the end

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

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When looking for this book you will mostly find it in the fiction collections, Either you are at the library or the store. The book is a short novel that will inspire you in many ways. The first thing that might come to mind might be, why is there an upside down dog on the cover, The upside down dog happens to be the most popular cover for the book. The author has many different covers for the book. He has one with a garden fork going through a bloody dog. You might do what we all call “Judging a book by it’s cover”. That’s okay but this book is worth more than the cover. You will only understand the cover if you take out the time to read this book. If you love mystery novel, then you will love this book. Just because the book is called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time doesn’t mean that it is all about a dog, It’s more than just a book about a dog, This book teach you how “Acceptance of others helps one find self-acceptance as well, problems can be an opportunity to learn and grow, a person can turn a weakness into a strength” and this all depends on how you interpret the book, one might say that they get a different message, and that is totally fine. It’s all about how you can turn the story into your own life experiences.The book is for adults, But if you think that you can handle it then you are more than welcome to read it. I promise that it will be one of the best book you have ever read.


The author of this book is named Mark Haddon. Mark Haddon is 51 years old, and was born 26 September 1962 in Northampton England. He went to a school called Uppingham School and studied English. After college Mark Haddon was occupied with many different jobs. One  the jobs included working with disabled people, and creating illustrations and cartoon for magazine and Newspaper companies. Mark Haddon also worked with autistic individuals as a young man. After many years mark decided to write his first children's book, which was called Gilbert’s Gobstopper. After writing this book he also wrote a several other children's book. He also wrote some Screen plays for BBC television. In 2003 He won the “Whitbread Book of the Year Award” One of his best selling book called  “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” He won many awards after that as well. One of the things that made Mark such a sensational writer was because he wasn’t only a writer, He was an artist. So therefore his work was very catchy. He try to fit his own personal life, and personal experiences  into the stories that he wrote. You will definitely see that as you read his work.

Mark Haddon have a very unique style of writing. One example is while reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, I notice that the book Christopher was writing is the book that we actually have in our hands. Well it will be in your’s if you decide to read this Amazing book. Since the novel that I read was the novel Christopher was writing, it made me feel closer to him. For same that reason, I felt like I was looking at the world from his perspective. The fact that we are  positioned in his shoes make it easy for the reader to understand the Novel.

I personally enjoyed reading this book because I believe that no matter what your conditions are you should still be treated “normal.” I mean is “normal” even normal, how do we know what’s normal and what’s not. Is there such thing called “Normal” This book got me thinking otherwise, Now I have a different perspective on how we look at people that have disabilities. I believe that no one can tell you what you are capable of. Christopher had autism so therefore he got treated differently. Christopher is someone you can look up to, because no matter what he didn’t let his obstacles get in the way of his success. I highly recommend this book. If you like  Daniel Isn't Talking, or  When I Was 5 I Killed Myself you will definitely enjoy this book, and even if you haven’t read the two book listed above you can still enjoy reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

These are some quotes that I really liked. My mind personally works like this sometimes.“But in life you have to take lots of decisions and if you don't take decisions you would never do anything because you would spend all your time choosing between things you could do. So it is good to have a reason why you hate some things and you like others.” My other favorite quote was “I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.” Read this book, and you will find many more amazing quotes like the one above. To finish up, I want to introduce you to a quote by one of my favorite writers, ― Mahatma Gandhi “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”



Christopher and His Kind

WGeary Christopher and His Kind Book Cover
WGeary Christopher and His Kind Book Cover
I redesigned Christopher Isherwood's Christopher and His Kind book cover. I took the art deco book cover and the 2011 movie poster and mashed them up into an art deco style version of the movie poster.
Book Review:

Christopher Isherwood is known as a pioneer of gay literature. He wrote many fictional books based oh his life in Berlin’s gay community in the early to mid 1900s. Christopher and His Kind, is one of Isherwood’s few non-fictional books and is very much an autobiography. The book was written as a reflection on ten years of his life from 1929-1939. The book was published in early 1976 and gathers Isherwood’s, diary entries, letters between Isherwood and his close friends, excerpts from his books and personal memory into one intellectually gripping book.

Christopher and His Kind was in many ways Isherwood’s tell all book. He writes of his outlandish friends and what characters they inspired in his previous novels, We meet Gerald Hamilton, the main character from Mr. Norris Changes Trains. Gerald is an older gay man who is known throughout Europe as a slimy conman who Christopher (like many others) is drawn to. Isherwood also writes about the Dramatic Jean Ross, the Lead character in Sally Bowls, she is a loud and theatrical British woman to which Christopher has a sisterly connection to. 

We also get to meet Christopher’s Personal friends and Colleagues like Wystan Auden, a satyrical poet who invites Christopher to Berlin in the first place; E.M. Forester, Author of the widely successful A passage to India and Isherwood’s mentor; Stephen Spender known for his many books of poetry. Then there is of course, Heinz Neddermeyer, Christopher’s love interest for the majority of the book, who he explored Europe with in the mid 1930s.

The story begins as Christopher takes a short vacation to visit Wystan Auden in Berlin. Auden takes Christopher around berlin, showing him the underground bars where Berlin’s gay culture thrived. After this trip, Christopher falls in love with Berlin and shortly after, moves there permanently. Christopher Lived in Berlin, moving to new parts of the city and meeting new people and writing new books, until the Nazi takeover in 1933. Christopher spent much of his time after leaving Germany in England, writing screenplays and trying desperately to get Heinz out of Germany. Christopher begins to develop a hatred for the U.K. and struggles to get both he and Heinz to the United States.

Christopher and His Kind as a book in entirety, is incredibly interesting because of the way that it is narrated, Isherwood talks in both the first and third person at any said time, attempting to distinguish between his past self and his present self. This leads to a multi-layered story, with the almost novelesque writings of his experiences in the 20s and 30s, but with an overlying narration from Isherwood, where he looks back and explains why he did something or how he feels about a certain topic now that he is older. In this  overlying narration, he adds in interesting things for the reader like diary entries, letters and poems. This makes Christopher and His Kind a fascinating theory book to boot, Isherwood deals with homosexuality and human behavior and contemplates them in a way that one can only do many years after the fact.

BBC released a movie based on Christopher and His Kind in 2011. Needless to say, it is very different than the book, having Christopher and all of his friends live in the same apartment building together when in reality, they may never have met each other at all. BBC did a fantastic job casting the rolls for the movie and the actors look exactly how Isherwood describes them in the book. The visual of the characters from the the movie crossed with the depth of the characters from the book created a very 3D and real aspect to story.

The movie has a phenomenal cast, starring Matt Smith who gives a remarkable performance as Christopher. Smith captured many of Isherwood’s mannerisms and plays a remarkably believable gay man. Watching the movie, then reading the book can be very interesting in terms of contrast, Smith gives such a wonderful performance as Christopher that one can’t help but prefer to imagine him rather than Isherwood in the role. Although That’s not to discount Isherwood’s writing style. Isherwood is known as one of the most influential Gay writers of his time. If you’re a fan of gay and lesbian literature, read any of Isherwood’s books, and know that they are the first of their kind. 


Christopher and His Kind

Christopher Isherwood

Publisher: Mc-Graw Hill

Year Published: 1976

Pages: 339 

Gay, Drama, Romance, Autobiography 

Book Review-Graceling

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This is a book cover of Graceling that was redesigned. All the words besides the name of the author are written in ciphers. The code for this cipher is "Lady Killer" and the new alphabet is alined along the bottom of the cover. The cover has a map of the Seven Kingdoms with the major cities labeled.

Katsa, known as “The Lady Killer,” travels across the kingdoms, only to discover a truth that is so horrible and threatens her life. Graceling is set in a place where there are Seven Kingdoms and in these kingdoms, there are people who can be born with two different colored eyes, called Gracelings. Gracelings are graced with different skills, ranging from speed, mind-control and many more. Once their eyes settle into two different colors, they are immediate sent to the king of their kingdom to become his tools. Katsa, niece of King Randa of the Middluns is graced with killing and is used by him to torture his enemies. Katsa does not like that she has to torture people, therefore she created a secret council that goes around saving people in need, as a way to rebel secretly. While on a mission, she meets Prince Greening Grandemalion or “Po”, of Lienid who is supposedly graced with fighting. There has been news that Queen Ashen of Monsea, aunt of Prince Po has locked herself and her daughter, Princess Bitterblue in her rooms because of the kidnapping of her own father. Po feels that is very unlikely that Queen Ashen would lock herself and that there has to be a different reason for it. Together Katsa and Po traveled through the borders of the other kingdoms to reach Monsea, only to find the nasty truth and now having to save Princess Bitterblue.

The author of the novel, Kristin Cashore is an American fantasy author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a new author compared to others authors. Her debut book, Graceling, was published in October 2008 and the companion, Fire, was published one year later in October 2009. The third book, sequel of Graceling, Bitterblue, was released on May 1, 2012. These are the three books that was published from Kristin Cashore. She is currently working on more books.

Kristin Cashore’s writing style is very unique and descriptive. She has a certain way of conveying character’s emotion and feelings without saying it straightforwardly. The emotions that her characters have are relatable to readers due to the fact that she makes them seem very realistic. She paints images beautifully, that allows the readers to imagine this amazing world that she created.

Kristin Cashore explores a few themes throughout Graceling, that teenagers can connect with at this moment. One major theme in the book was that no one can define your identity but it must be discovered from within. Katsa has a killing grace which is feared by almost everyone who has heard of her and so they think of her like a monster. When others think of her as a monster, she accepts and believes that she is. Throughout the book, she discovers that she does not have to be what people assume her to be because that is not her true self. On page 137, she thought, “When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster?” At this part, she began to realize that she was killing people because she was told to by the king but this was not something that she wanted to do. From this moment on, she started to discover and show others that she is not a monster but something else entirely.

Another theme was that women can live comfortably without having men to protect or lead them. Kristin Cashore tends to depict strong, independent and confident girl characters in her books especially in Graceling. In Katsa’s mind, she thinks that marrying would mean that she would have no more freedom and that it would make her an object of a male and that is why she choose not to marry at all. Not only is she a woman who can survive and provide for herself, but she also wants other girls, especially the younger ones to do the same. She despises the fact that some girl do not even know how to protect themselves but have to rely on their male family members instead.

Graceling exceeded my expectations because it was really different and it was a page turner for me. I loved how she was able to create a world so unique and amazing that I wanted to know more. I wanted to know more about everything because it is the type of book that leaves me wondering. The storyline was interesting, the book was well written, the emotions were so realistic, the world was amazing. This is truly one of the best books I have ever read and I can not get enough of it. It exceeded my expectation to the point that I had to pick it back up and read it over again. Every time I read it, I get something new from it, yet at the same time it is like deja vu. My second time reading it felt like my first. I got excited, angry, happy, surprised all over again, like I did not know what was already going to happen. It is very hard to find a book that can have this effect on me therefore there was nothing that I did not like.

This book may not be the perfect type for some people but I recommend this book to people who are looking for something new and different because they may end up liking it. Also this book would be great for people who love fantasy and want to discover a whole new world that is both beautiful and horrible at the same time. This book is for people who love to read about women who are strong individuals. Even if this is a book that does not sound interesting, I suggest giving it a try because it is a book full of mysteries and secrets.


Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore 
Publisher: Graphia, 
Publishing Date: 2008 
Pages: 471
Genre: Fantasy


Q1 Benchmark- 1984 Book Review

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Alex Held

Earth Stream

1984 Book Review


Power. It gives a person the potential to rule or to govern with a guiding hand for the prosperity of a country and it’s people. But more often, it has the propensity to corrupt and eradicate equality. It alters speech and changes behavior. It impregnates the susceptible mind with deceit and reaps it of its morals.


George Orwell, the author of 1984, was an English novelist, whose works are often highlighted for his articulate prose, commitment to democratic socialism, and his awareness of social justice. All of these qualities in addition to his extraordinary knowledge of totalitarianism aided him in creating one of the most spectacular and eloquently written novels of all time; one that not only displayed how thoroughly he grasped one of the most austere conflicts of the 20th century and the possible repercussions of a German victory in the Second World War or Stalin’s second Great Purge that never was, but also allowed him to strikingly do so in such an unsettling and dismaying manner. A manner that can never be reproduced. 1984 was the final book produced by Orwell in the year before he passed away. Other notable works written by him are Animal Farm, and Homage to Catalonia.


George Orwell’s gripping novel written in 1949 throws the reader into Oceania. No, not the Southern Pacific islands and Australia, but a worn-torn, totalitarian “Superstate,” whose decrepit slums serve as the home to almost all of the its population. The few percent of the population of Oceania who are rarely ever seen, just whispered of by the “proles” who live in perpetual fear of these very people, go by the name of the Inner Party. The two other Superstates’ (Eastasia: Obliteration of the Self), (Eurasia: Neo-Bolshevism) inhabitants reside in anything but harmony, just like those of Oceania.


All three Superstates are at a incessant war and live under the yoke of their own versions of The Party and it’s privileged elite. The Party dictates society through the euphemistically named English Socialism (Ingsoc) political system. They, however, both fully devote their lives to Big Brother, an apocryphal, quasi-divine figure who is the at the utter Zenith of the hierarchy on earth where “WAR IS PEACE”  and government surveillance is ubiquitous in the form of mind control telescreens. Any manifestation of individualism or thinking that may be deemed independent is looked on as a “thoughtcrime.” Those who are even accused of committing thoughtcrime are sent to a torture and reformation facility ironically named the Ministry of Love.


Orwell involuntarily connected the “watchful eye” perspective in 1984 of Big Brother and The Party to many things 60 years in the future. The United States has duplicated the idea of telescreens in an tenor manner with the NSA (National Security Agency), despite the fact that they would like to admit to it. It is no secret that the NSA listens in on every phone call, tracks internet history, and maintains close surveillance on everyone living in the country and even more so those out of it, living in countries that the United States is affiliated with, as allies or opponents. It is becoming increasingly palpable that the Orwellian themes in 1984 are unavoidable.


The protagonist of the book is a man named Winston Smith. Winston lives in Oceania and is a member of the outer party. His profession is in historical revisionism, where he alters history in favor of The Party, which, again shows how they censor any and everything from the people. Winston is depicted throughout the book by Orwell as an intelligent man, but one whose oppressed and thus, his intelligence is vastly hindered by both fear of thoughtcrime and just deprivation of knowledge concealed by the Party. Although he serves The Party, Winston secretly hopes that Big Brother is subjugated by some rebellion. “If there is hope, it lies in the proles,” is something that Winston keeps ensconced in his mind.


As the book progresses Winston meets a girl named Julia. As Orwell describes her, Julia is  a young girl who also works in the same field as he does, historical revisionism. Orwell’s language in the book suggest that Winston not only had mixed feelings about Julia (one time suspecting she was a member of the Thought Police), but also that he desires to feel love once more and that he can achieve that with her. Not love in the way he did for his wife some time ago when he initially met her, but a kind of dispassionate connection he now has with her. He desires that with Julia. She is his new beginning and his revitalization, but their relationship is far more bound than it ever was with his wife.


Orwell not only affects Julia and Winston’s relationship with the aspect of neverending surveillance of every move they make and every word they utter, but with just the environment alone that they, and everyone else around them are forced to live in. 1984 will leave you wondering if Winston can perpetuate his visits with Julia, with each tryst becoming more jeopardous than the last. Orwell creates a bleak scenario for a love affair that makes one question if there is even any love left to give. He offers a book-long question of whether or not there there is any promise that remains on earth, or has hope become completely effete.


1984 is a book that will really test you optimistic types out there. Can The Party be overthrown or will they do what no other ruling system has done before: watch everyone, crush every rebellion, and stay in perpetual control. Can the keep strengthening their plutocracy, which gives them the only wealth they’ll ever need, power and fear? George Orwell baits you with hope, but is there any that remains?



Title: 1984

Author: George Orwell

Publisher: Secker and Warburg

Date of Publication: 1949

Number of Pages: 328 Pages with afterword

Genre: Dystopian, Political Fiction, Social Science Fiction


Collins, Bailey: Book Review Q1

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Screen Shot 2013-10-25 at 10.35.49 AM

The Awkward Type

‘Eleanor and Park’ By Rainbow Rowell


When I first began reading the book Eleanor and Park, I expected it to be a story about love and music. I never expected the rest. I bought the book because my teacher rated it five stars. So it must be great. She was right. I am not one to read stories about teenage love. Most of my book choices are about people with psychological issues. Reading about teenage love always felt so cliché. Every little girl wants to fall in love and have a perfect life, but I never believed in love like this book made me believe. This book truly captured the imperfect side of love. Where it is unintentional, straining, and very awkward.

Eleanor and Park is a fictional novel written by Rainbow Rowell. This is Rainbow Rowell’s first novel for young adults. It is a story with love, misfits, and great music references.

and the most incredible descriptions of how love truly is. The book is set in 1986, and spans from September and through the school year.

Eleanor is the main character. Eleanor has bright red hair. She is chubby and pasty white with freckles all over. She is also made fun of by the popular kids in school for her hair, being visibly poor, dressing like a boy, and because she is a bigger girl, but not fat, more curvy. Eleanor has three brothers and one sister. They are all younger than her. Her stepfather is Richie. This book begins when she is moving back to her mother’s house because her stepfather kicked her out a year before. This man is the antagonist. He is scary, but in a deadbeat, always drunk, cursing at small children for wetting the bed and screaming at his wife who is crying because she is just afraid, type of scary. None of them can get away though.

Park was a very innocent character. His examples of love were so powerful, unlike Eleanor’s examples. His mother is from Korea and his father was stationed in Korea after the Vietnam War. They fell in love and he brought her back to America. Park’s parents are still in love and they are just always happy with each other. Rainbow Rowell does an excellent way of showing all of the different “types” of love that can be. Park is the weird kid on the bus, who wears black clothes and listens to punk music. He isn’t made fun of for being different because he has lived in the neighborhood his whole life and in the 6th grade he dated the popular girl.

Eleanor and Park meet on the school bus. She was lost and nobody wanted to sit next to the new girl that had fake pearls on and patched up jeans. Park just curses at her to sit down though. It takes months for them to have any type of conversation. They sit quietly and try so hard to not make eye contact. One day, Park realizes that Eleanor is reading his comics over his shoulder. He starts bringing her other comics to read. He gives her stacks and she always brings them back smelling like a field of roses. On the day that Park forgets to grab the stack of comics for her is the first day they say anything to each other. They begin talking about music.

“You can be Han Solo," he said, kissing her throat. "And I'll be Boba Fett. I'll cross the sky for you.” This is a quote from the book. I want to explain my reaction to just this line. I read this quote before I got to where it was in the book because of a website called ‘Goodreads.’ I was reading a review and I knew that I needed to read this book because of this line. The way that Rowell writes this line made me so excited. The reference is from Star Wars. A few times during the book, Eleanor and Park talk about Star Wars, and how they’re love is like that. I knew that I needed to read this book because this “nerd love” is the best kind of relationship to me. I fell in love before I began reading. This book is stocked full of these very graphic descriptions. Most are about the love story and I swooned at every one. Rowell gave the same power in her descriptions of everything that you didn’t know could scare you or make you want to cry.

This book was just incredible to me. I felt everything that both characters were feeling. I cried when the book ended because all I wanted to do was read more and have their story live on forever. Everytime Park had to remind Eleanor how he felt about her, I fell in love and wished I could find this fictional character and have him love me. These two characters are very awkward. They aren’t outgoing and they try to stay invisible, or just be. When they meet, sit together, and finally speak, they are noticed by everyone. The hand-holding between Eleanor and Park is written so intense. Park says, “Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.” Rainbow Rowell did an incredible job of writing about this type of love and the only part of the book that fell short was how it ends. I won’t give it away though. I just wanted the book to go on forever.

In the New York Times, John Greene wrote in his review, “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.” I am young, and I don’t have a very good understanding of what love will be like when I find it, but I know exactly what it is like to fall in love with a book, and I can’t wait to reread this book and fall in love all over again. Mark Twain once said, “Books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.” This quote spoke true while I was reading Eleanor and Park. Rainbow Rowell creates an excellent picture that engages the reader so deeply that they forget about the real world and their life is in this novel.

The day after I finished reading Eleanor & Park, I immediately began reading her book ‘Attachments’. I am not very far into the book, I know that it is a struggle to get into this book because it isn’t much like Eleanor and Park besides also being a love story. Being a teenager, I find it so much easier to read about people my own age. It gives me a better connection so I can feel like I am in the book and this is my other life.


Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press.

Published: February 2013.

328 pages.

Work of fiction.

Carrie By:Donesha Lee


Carrie

By:Donesha Lee

Book Review


Goose bump chilling,spine crawling,and hair raising books have been produced by plenty of world-known authors.Stephen Edwin King, an American author of Portland, Maine is known for his wonderful additions to this writing community.As a young child “King” went through a traumatic experience of seeing his friend being struck by a train.King’s parents say he came home “speechless and seemingly in shock.”, but does not seem to have any recollection of it ever happening.His past experiences have influenced his dark productions such as finding a stack of “short stories, entitled The Lurker in the Shadows,”by H.P. Lovecraft, which all belonged to his father that left at a younger age.He went on to tell “Barnes & Noble Studios during a 2009 interview, "I knew that I'd found home when I read that book.” Stating that he knew he was supposed to write horror stories in his upcoming life.However, King’s first published novel “Carrie” was a book he didn’t believe would make it as big as it did.


“Carrie” is a great product of King’s imaginative horror,suspenseful, and science fiction works. The story is written in epistolary form, which is a bunch of newspaper clippings,articles from magazines, and letters from different characters thrown together to give off the telling of a story.Most of it circles around third point of view.It was released April 5,1979, which had an estimate of first print -run of 30,000 copies.King said that he found that the book was quite “raw”, but “had a surprising power to hurt and horrify”.His wife “Tabitha or Tabby” was actually the person who asked King to continue on his journey writing it.It actually went on to profit him $2,500 in advance, but was $400,000 in paperback rights later on.The book is a generally banned book in the United States School System.However, lucky our school.


King says the book was based on two girls he knew during high school growing up.It is advertised as a story of “how women find their own channels of power, and what men fear about women and women’s sexuality.”The story establishes the scenes of a young girl who day in and day out is bullied by her peers, has a highly religious mother,and finds she has telekinetic powers. Carrie is a soft-spoken child manipulated by everyone that she comes into contact with in life.She is a curious teenage girl who just wants to be accepted, but her mother will not let her have that, crushing her under the influence of praying and “God’s way” every minute she can get.


Reflecting back on this book, I can say it was good to get through it. The scenes were easy to read individually, but put together was hard to follow due to its form of writing. It would be like if I read some of it, sat it down, and came back to it;I would have to reread what I previously did. This book requires patience and time.Its 199 page size does not change the difference. In order to comprehend what is happening in the book a person must carefully follow which ever clipping they are reading at the time is describing or saying.

A word of advice about this book is if you don’t have the greatest memory, or patience to go back, and check what you previously read, THIS IS NOT THE BOOK FOR YOU. You will probably consistently have to do that, but not everyone is the same, and may not have the same problems. However, if you are passionately dedicated to read this book before you attend the new remake film of it in theaters, or have heard so much about it, than be my guess. It is a intriguingly interesting, creepy,and is written an a almost mystery type of writing.If you find bullying a little to hard to read, then this may not be the best story to pick on the shelf.You constantly find yourself asking the question “Why are you not doing something?” You begin to lose “YOUR” mentality and morals. This book pulls you into a world of bullying that no one should ever have to go through. It enlightens a whole other side of King’s imaginative skills from his early ages.



Citing

Title:Carrie

Author:Stephen E. King

Publisher:Doubleday 

Date of publication:April 5,1974

Number of pages:199

Genre:Horror,Epistolary,Tragedy 

"Welcome to StephenKing.com." Welcome to StephenKing.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

King, Stephen E. "Carrie (novel)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

"Stephen King." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

An Abundance of Katherines

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Untitled-3

John Green published his first book, Looking For Alaska, all the way back in 2005. Since then the book has become an acclaimed young adult novel and has won awards like the Michael L. Print Award from the American Library Association. Since then Green has published 3 more novels including 2 collaboration novels. His own works have received positive acclaim by both adults and teenagers around the world. His works have spread far enough to have been published in more than a dozen different languages. Starting in 2007, John Green and his brother Hank Green began making youtube videos under the channel Vlogbrothers. Through youtube, John Green’s books were made known and he gained a number of followers. An Abundance of Katherines, Green’s second teen novel, follows a teenage boy on a journey dedicated to discovering a great math equation and the art of story-telling. 

Colin Singleton, child prodigy and aspiring genius, has just had his most recent break up with Katherine 19. Colin’s infamous dating career has resulted in him getting dumped and falling into a small depression, but this time is different. Colin’s depression leads to a road trip with his weight-heavy, Muslim best friend, Hassan. On the road Colin aims to finish his universal equation that would determine the fate of any romantic relationship ever. The duo’s adventure lands them in Gutshot, Tennessee, a town dependent on a tampon string factory. Here, Colin and Hassan land a job recording the town’s history by interviewing the inhabitants of Gutshot. It will take a few adventures in Gutshot and quite a bit of sappy moments for Collin to restore himself and come to life changing conclusions. 

John Green experimented writing in the third person point of view, while he wrote  An Abundance of Katherines. On his blog, Green explains that he didn’t think it would make sense for the book to be written in first person if the main protagonist lacked story-telling skills at the beginning in the book. The language style in An Abundance of Katherines mainly focuses on metaphors and foreign phrases, courtesy of Hassan. 

Finding one’s unique identity is one of the main themes in the novel. In the beginning Collin wants to become a genius more than anything else and it literally takes a book for him to discover who he really wants to be. Not only does Collin have a goal for who he wants to become, he has his own reasoning behind it. Collin wants to matter to the world. He is chasing after recognition so that he does not become sort of insignificant to the world. Personally, John Green had a great, constant writing style through out the book.

I had mixed feelings about An Abundance Of Katherines. The book met my expectations in the writing style section. John Green can make characters talk like real teenagers and he gives them common dilemmas that teenagers can relate to. I enjoyed the footnotes full of fun facts and explanations of the crazy math that Collin thinks of. To be brutally honest I was disappointed with this book with how the main protagonist carried himself. Collin was whiny and extremely geeky; although he tried really hard to cover up his awkwardness at times which kind of countered the whole theme of “discovering one’s self”. The plot of the book was sort of random, not in how it was structured but in the way that makes you think “Where did John Green get these ideas from?”. In short, the character development in the book and the strange plot did not appeal to me but I was satisfied by the writing style and overall messages. Unfortunately the book did not exceed any of my expectations. 

An Abundance of Katherines perfectly fits under the Beauty and the Geek category which is one that I don’t often read. The romance is really sappy and cheesy which might appeal to some people. Although the messages were good, the book is not worth reading if you are not into geeky teen romance or random math spasms. People who are suckers for smooth, cheesy pick up lines and teenagers having super deep conversation will definitely enjoy An Abundance of Katherines. I recommend this book to people who enjoy John Green’s other works because it does have a few comedic moments and has that teenage love story some people might relate to.Other than that you should only read it if you can put up with the amount of eye rolling you will be doing every time Collin mentions his love of Katherines. 



Title: An Abundance of Katherines

Author:John Green

Pub date: Sept 1, 2006

Page count: 256p

Genre: Fiction/Young Adult

Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian Review By: Michael Nicolella



Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is about a Native American teenager named Arnold (nickname Junior) who lives on a reservation. He is considered the dorkiest kid in his reservation and he is constantly bullied. One day during school, he gets a geometry book that his mother used almost 30 years ago. At that moment, he realizes that he needs a better education and he gets so mad he throws the textbook and it hits his teacher.

He ends up getting suspended. He realizes during his suspension that he needs to leave the reservation or else he will end up like everyone else in his reservation, poor and drunk. Here is a little taste of one of his moments where he realizes he needs to leave:


“‘Who has the most hope?’ I asked.

Mom and Dad looked at each other. They studied each other. They studied each other’s eyes, you know, like they had antennas and were sending radios signals to each other. And they both looked back at me.

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Who has the most hope?’

‘White people,’ My parents said at the same time....

‘I want to transfer schools,’ ...

‘I want to go to Rederan,’ I said.

Rederan is the rich, white farm town that sits in the wheat fields exactly twenty-two miles away from the rez.” (P.45)

The way the author writes is obviously in first person. I think that this is the best way to show the development of the character. You hear all of his thoughts and know what is going on within him. The way Sherman Alexie writes is hard to describe, but I would call it an informal way of writing. He writes in a simple way, like a kid would think or talk which makes it makes it much better when he is thinking or talking because nobody speaks perfect english and this adds a little more authenticity to the characters. Also, it’s easy to read and funny sometimes too.


Sherman Alexie is almost exactly like his character. He grew up on a Native American reservation and was born into a poor family (like most Native Americans). He was born with a condition where spinal fluid was in his skull and it made his head big. He  had surgery and the risk of his brain being damaged was very high but he turned out to be fine. He was also bullied as a kid because of the size of his head. Also just like in his book, he left his reservation school and went to Rederan high school to get a better quality of education.


Good:

One of the best things about this book is that I actually laughed from this book. I genuinely liked it. One cool thing that made the world actually real was the main character, Arnold who is actually Sherman. The book is about his early life and the struggles that he had to go through being born with a deformation that made his head huge. It really shows that people can achieve anything no matter what holds them back. Also the drawings usually add a bit of humor to the situations. They usually make fun of people and he also says that they are his escape from the hard things.


Bad:

I wish I could say something bad about the book itself, but I really liked it. I can relate to and understand what happens to Junior and why he chooses what he does. Some people think that talking about sex and girls in a book is a bad thing (and it was actually banned in a few schools because of that) but that stuff is in everyones life if you like it or not. It’s something that cannot be ignored.


I would think that this book is for almost everyone as long as you can get past some of the sex and language in the book. I don’t find it that bad but it did get banned in a few places so it must be for some people. I think what makes it good for everyone is that everyone was once a teenager and had to deal with the pressures of going to high school for the first time.


Book Info:

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian

By: Sherman Alexie

Publisher: Brown and Company

Date of Publication: September 2007

Pages: 230

Genre: Fiction, Young adult literature, Children’s literature


Spanish reflection #7

Chris Tran

Srta.Manuel


Nexus 7, la mejor tableta Android:


Este artículo se trata de la tableta de Nexus 7. Gente dijeron esta la tableta de Nexus 7 es mejor que Ipad. Esta tableta es hecho por Google, un compañía mejor en Los Estados Unidos y el mundo. Por treinta dolares más su puede tener esta tableta. Esta tableta es más caro porque es un modelo nuevo. La pantalla de esta tableta es grande y tener bueno ángulos por un pantalla de cualquier tableta. Esta pantalla es bueno por juegue videojuegos en la tableta. La lista de Best in Tech tuve esta tableta como una tableta mejor. Yo pienso esta tableta es el mejor porque una tableta con una gráficas buena y es bueno por juegue videojuegos. También yo pienso esta tableta va a vender mucho tabletas y hago mucho dinero. En el futuro la tableta y tecnología en todo va a mucho mejor y hago tecnología mejor. El vocabulario que yo aprendí en el artículo es iteración. Iteración es un proceso de repetir un proceso. Yo encontrado la palabra en esta sentencia en el artículo. “La popular mini tableta, la cual fue lanzada el año pasado por Google, sólo ha mejorado con la llegada de la segunda iteración. (CNN)


Word count: 200


Work Cited:


"Nexus 7, La Mejor Tableta Android." CNN En Espaol Ultimas Noticias De Estados Unidos Latinoamrica Y El Mundo Opinin Y Videos RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2013/10/24/nexus-7-la-mejor-tableta-android/>.

Prisoner of Trebekistan book review

The first time I read Bob Harris’ “Prisoner of Trebekistan”  I was 12 years old, and in a frenzy over jeopardy. 4 year, and countless books later, it is still the one i come back to time and time again, for its odd connections, and off humor. The book is one part autobiography, one part jeopardy study guide, and one part life advice, that combines in the strangest way possible to form an experience that is visceral, and exciting.

The book proper starts with a brief overview of the history of jeopardy, and how the creator, Merv Griffin came up with the idea. He then jumps into an anecdote of his experience taking the jeopardy test, and eventually succeeding to get on the show. After some humorous faltering he manages to win his first game. He is quickly consumed by his studies, so much so that he stops doing routine things like washing clothes and going outside. This world of learning where different themes and ideas converge to form an overarching narrative of the world at large, is known as Trebekistan.

The biggest draw of “Prisoner of Trebekistan”, is the author’s ability to convey his thoughts and emotions with such clarity that it impacts you on a deep level. The book is at its core, a tale of a small town boy who moves to hollywood, and gets an opportunity to take part in a game that he never imagined. When he wins, you feel every ounce of excitement that he feels. When he is sad you will be brought to the verge of tears. There is never a point in the story where you feel disconnected from him, because even though he is going through so many foreign experiences, he is a very relatable and down to earth “Character”. He makes readers root for him, and want to experience these things with him.

If you have an interest in Jeopardy, the this book was tailor made for you. The author gives insight into how a game of jeopardy works. The author does a good job of showing exactly how playing a game of Jeopardy affects your mind, as well as how your frame of mind affects your level of skill when playing. It shines light on what it takes to be a jeopardy champion, and gives information on why knowing the answers does not guarantee you a win. Most importantly it is packed full of information, that anyone who craves knowledge will embrace wholeheartedly. The things you will learn will span all subjects, and transcend time, ranging from fanciful humor, to serious medical conditions, and they are presented in the most humorous way possible.

And of course you cannot forget Harris’ self depreciating form of humor. After college he spent years as a stand up comedian, and it shows through in every joke, and wisecrack. Harris makes wild and humorous analogies to describe the functions of the human brain. Using humor, and crudeness to memorize important facts is just one of the many tips he gives to set readers on their way to becoming a Jeopardy champion.

None of this is to say that the book is without its flaws. Harris is prone to long tangents that have little to do with the topic at hand, and he has some really roundabout ways of making points. Some will argue that’s the point, making obscure connections in ways that no one would ever notice, but after a while, it begins to seem tangential. Despite being relatable, Bob can also be very unlikable. At sometimes it seems as though he is forcing his self depreciation for a joke, making the entire experience feel disingenuous. Beyond a certain point the satire can become dry, and insufferable.

The biggest weakness of the book is that it is excessively preachy. Almost from the beginning morals are shoved down your throat in a way that tries to be fun, but is ultimately hamfisted. He outlines steps to “Enlightened Jeopardy” which are for the most part very traditionally eastern beliefs, slightly modified to fit jeopardy. He claims that following the path as closely as possible will lead to happiness, yet their are times in the book where following the path his led him to his own disasters, undoing him, and his life at large.  The heavy handedness and irony of his steps make parts of the book almost unbearable.

In the end whether or not you will like Bob Harris’ “Prisoner of Trebekistan” comes down to complete personal preference. If you enjoy silly writing with airy characters, and learning a lot about how to learn a lot, along with lots of other things, the this is the book for you. On the other hand, if lofty morals, and overused satire are off putting, you may not want to pick this one up. You should give it a try, read some previews, and reviews, and check it out to see if it appeals to you.
prisoner of trebekistan remix think music

English Q1 BM: Book Review for The Golden Compass

The author of this splendid book is Philip Pullman. He is an excellent author who won awards for his series trilogy of “His Dark Materials”. He was born in the town of Norwich, England in 1946. He taught english at Oxford Middle Schools for a while until he went on to teach at Westminster College. He tries to write stories that can grab readers attention, but most of his reader are pre-teen and teen. Philip Pullman also wrote other fantastic stories like book 2 and 3 of his trilogy of His Dark Material, Puss in Boots, The Broken Bridge, and The Butterfly Tattoo. The book that I’m doing this book review on is his first book from his award winning series. The Golden Compass is a book that takes you back to the era similar to the Victorian Era that occurred in England; an era where the church rules everything and there are scholars and students who attend Universities. Lyra, a young girl who lives in the university with her daemon, Pantalaimon, likes to lurk around the university and nearby towns. One day, her uncle, an important man, has came to the university to talk to the headmaster and other scholars about a discovery that he had uncovered in this journey in the great North. Then Lyra saved her uncle from being killed by an attempted assassination. Saving her uncle was just the beginning of the chains of many tortuous and dangerous events that Lyra will experience later in the book.  She went through many hardships during some events and also found herself in danger. Events like getting abducted by a lady that commits hideous acts, traveling to the great north with Egyptians to save children from being severed, or risking her life to save her friend’s life. During this grand journey, Lyra has found her talent and unique qualities, qualities that she would soon use to unlock key information that relates to the rescue of these children. Lyra, who is intelligent, brave, and adventurous, has gone through a journey that will change and influenced her life.  



The structure of this book is like any other book, the story has an uphill part which leads to the climax, and then the downhill. The Golden Compass did a great job of grabbing the readers attention on the very first page. Throughout the book, the author used lots of figurative language and adjectives that gives off lots of imagery, which grabs readers attention and makes books more interesting to read. The type of speech that he included in this book caught my attention as well. The speech matches the context of the story and its plot. Since this book has a setting similar to the Victorian Era, the author has carefully set this type of language back into the story to help the readers be aware of the time period that the setting is in. The idea that this book explored was the idea of mixing the Victorian Era and its complex language with a genre like science fiction. This kind of mixture for an idea of book is difficult. Something that happened in the past is really difficult to mix with the idea of futuristic and fantasy ideas (just thinking about it is impossible) but somehow this book had succeed on something that I  assumed to be impossible. This book includes description of the past, but adds futuristic things in its context. For example, a city in the aurora borealis is an example of science fiction that exist in this book. Philip Pullman did a fantastic job writing this book because he has fused two different kinds of genre into one book that’s enjoyable to pre-teens and teens.

The areas in the book where expectations were exceeded was how descriptive it is. While writing this book, the author did a stupendous job being descriptive with all of the action that is occurring in the book. One example was the in the beginning, when Lyra and Pantalaimon was sneaking around the Master’s meeting room. He gave us a very illustrative description that makes us have the feeling of actually being there with Lyra sneaking in the room with her. Other than being descriptive, the book exceeds my expectations by not making the introduction into the setting of the story long. In other books that I have read they took time describing the world that the story takes place. Meanwhile, this book provides us with little context of where the setting of the story is, and instead went straight into the rich details of the action that occurred in the book. The part in the book that fell short of my expectations is at the very end. At the end of the book they left us with a question that I felt remained unanswered. This question I think is not going to be answered until the second book. This question is about the relationship between Lord Asriel (Lyra’s “uncle”) and Miss Coulter (random woman).  The author made a mistake of not being descriptive enough when explaining about the relationship of Lord Asriel and Miss Coulter. There has to be something important about their relationship that Philip Pullman did not describe enough to let me understand why that would lead to the event in the story. The age groups that I think would love this book are kids ages 11-16 because kids at this age would like to read something that is fantasized into a world where there is danger because they love books that have danger, suspense and drama. The reason why older adults wouldn’t like this book is because this illustrates fantasized characters that exists in books for little kids. Characters like witches and talking animals are considered to be little kids favorite characters. But Philip Pullman does such a superb job in coordinating these fantasized characters into a book where it is enjoyed by pre-teen and teenage kids.

  • Book Title: The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials: Book 1)

  • Author: Philip Pullman

  • Publisher: Yearling

  • Date of Publication: May 2001

  • Number of Pages: 399 pages

  • Genre: Science Fiction