Why We Broke Up By Daniel Handler

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Why We Broke Up

by Daniel Handler 

Illustrator: Maira Kalman

 Why we broke up was written by Daniel Handler and illustrated by Maria Kalman and Why we broke up is a fictional novel, i choose this book to review because it isn’t like other books i have read, its different because Daniel Handler actually capture the feeling of being in love, the feeling of letting go of the person you had a special feeling for. Having a significant other in your life for a long time and then breaking it off is hard, its hard to take emotionally but their is always a reason why it happens, sometimes your just no happy but because you break it off doesn’t mean it isn’t hard for you as well, it will be but it wont be as hard as it is to the other person. Having things that remind you of the other person may be hard to let go but while time goes by your start to realize its fine to let that person go, and the stuff that came with the other person, the memories that were left. Then you start to think of that person and the memories and how love can blind you, how love made you do things that you wouldn’t do if you weren’t in love. Daniel capture the look of the couples, what couples do, what happens when you do things. Maria and Daniel 

Daniel Handler wrote this book and Maria Kalman illustrated the book, how this book started was Maria wanted to paint objects and Daniel could just imagine a romance novel, but he had to capture the prospective of a teenager girl, Daniel would take public transportation every day and he would over her young people conversations about love and their emotions, and he would capture that in this novel. This novel is an amazing book for all ages but the author wrote it for teenagers because the characters were teenagers and they were going threw that high school love that everyone goes threw. Also Daniel Handler has a pen name, its Lemony Snicket. Daniel Handler has written 13 books, he has a different kind of writing, he is careful of how he writes. Daniel Handler has known the feeling of being in a break up because like everyone else Daniel Handler has also been in a heart broken situation, he has a least been dumped three times in his high school years. 


This book is a very good book, i would recommend this book to teenagers because the character in the book are teenagers and teenagers would actually relate to the break up of teens, as we would call it high school love but others would relate to this book as well. Reading this book while your in love and relating to their love it would actually make you smile while reading this book. Also Daniel has capture the feeling but also capture the image of love, how everyone does. This book is very interesting, very good to read. Different thing that have different memories, that have different reasons why they broke up. 

English Q1 BM: JCruz Book review+ Creative Piece

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The Knife of Never Letting Go 



“But a knife ain’t just a thing, is it? It’s a choice, it’s something you do. A knife say yes or no, cut or not, die or don’t. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again.” -Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go



The story starts in a town named Prentisstown, though it isn’t like other towns. The settlers of New World were infected with the noise germ. Their world became full of noise. Overwhelming noise of thoughts. Todd, our antagonist and his dog Manchee, whose thoughts Todd can also hear. It is a month before Todd’s birthday when he finds out that the town is hiding something, a secret. Because of this awful secret Todd and Manchee must run but that is nearly impossible with everyones thoughts and secrets floating around in the noise. How could you escape your pursuers when they can hear your thoughts? With Todd’s pursuers not far behind he runs into silence-- a girl. A girl who is silent, where was the girl from and why wasn’t she killed off by the germ like all the other women in the town Todd didn’t know. Todd must then run from the men from his town and Mr. Prentiss the leader of the town. Accompanied by his dog and a oddly silent girl, Todd has to unlearn everything he was lead to believe in order to find out who he truly is.



The reason I enjoyed this book was because of Patrick Ness. The book is beautifully written.  The Knife of Never Letting Go started off as a gift from a friend. After reading the first book of the Chaos Walking trilogy I couldn’t wait to move on to the next and read other writing by Ness. The Knife of Never Letting go is creative and powerful. Though I would say the writing is a bit funny, the writing at first seems quite dragged out and rambly but once you get past a few chapters the storyline draws you in. The book is filled with grammatical errors, Patrick Ness uses these errors as a way to convey the story in the protagonists point of view. The writing style gives the read flare.This book is not for those who won’t give the book some time to rope you in. I suggest the reader invest a little time in it and Ness is sure to draw you in. He hits you right in the gut with those feelings. Ness’s world where our protagonist residences is unique and intriguing. The book contains strong characters that keep you engaged. They give the plot a life, providing flavor and diversity. There is continuous dramatic and emotional twists and turns. There is minor vulgar language and gory violence, the other all theme is a bit complex for younger readers as well. In order to enjoy the books and all it’s aspects I’d recommend the reader be a teen or older. Otherwise a great read. The ending will have you running to the door to buy the second book of the Chaos Walking trilogy, The Ask and the Answer.



And so Patrick Ness’s Knife of Never Letting go is only one of the first installments to Ness’s incredible series. It’s also won some awards like the Booktrust Teenage Prize, Guardian Award and James Tiptree Award. The book is for those looking for a dynamic protagonist and evil, sinister antagonists. I’d also recommend reading Ness’s novel, A Monster Calls, after reading the Chaos trilogy of course! I believe that Patrick Ness needs more attention from book companies so i’d highly recommend the book for those mature enough. There are always good books sitting on bookshelves that have yet to be discovered Patrick Ness’s The Knife of Never Letting Go is just that type of book. 


Book Info:

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Publisher: Walker Books

Date of Publication: 5 May 2008

Number of Pages: 479

Genre: Teen, Fiction Novel

Mystic river book review

Mystic River

Dennis Lehane


If you are someone who stays up past midnight reading very suspenseful mystery novels then this the book for YOU.
Mystic River is the name and brilliant writing is the game. Mystery is my favorite genre, if it’s yours as well then this is the book for you. This book is the average mystery book on steroids.


Mystic River book review


Mystic River is a suspenseful tale, that will have you addicted and wanting to read all of Dennis Lehane’s books.  Mystic River starts out with three boys (Jimmy, Dave, and Sean) growing up in a suburban town near Boston. It takes place in the year 1975 when the boys are only in 6th grade. These boys do as every boy does, by getting in some trouble. These three boys definitely know how to take the advantage of an afternoon in the summer. The boys not only get in trouble for small things, but also they get in trouble for relatively big things, such as stealing cars around their neighborhood and for fighting. The story starts with one of the boys getting abducted after a fight between the friends. The boy is also sexually abused by the abductors.


The novel then jumps to the year 2000, 25 years after the adduction. The same 3 boys are bring back together after separating. They are brought together because of the death of Jimmy’s daughter. Was it murder? Jimmy believes that his old friend Dave is the one who had murdered his daughter. Jimmy believes it is Dave because Dave hasn't been his old self since the kidnapping 25 years prior.  Jimmy is an ex-con who is getting his life together but, will he lose control after his daughter’s murder. Dave is thought of as “The boy who escaped the wolves”  and hadn't had a great childhood. As Dave grew older he became angrier and angrier, more paranoid and capable of things not usually thought about in the sane human mind.  Sean is tied into this as well, as the police detective assigned to the mystery. Of course Sean has problems of his own.  Not only did his wife abandon him, he believes that he's heard everything and life has nothing else to offer him.  He spends his days alone listening to old recordings that he may have not heard clearly the first time he listen to it.


Dennis lehane is the writer the author of the story mystic river. Dennis lehane was born August 4, 1965 in Dorchester  neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts.. Dennis still lives in the Boston. Dennis is the youngest of 5 children. Lehane graduated from Eckerd college where he found his love for writing. Lehane's first book "A drink before the war" won an award for the best P.I novel. The fourth book in the series was adapted to a film "Gone, baby, gone" in 2007. Lehane's book mystic river was also made into a film in 2003 by Clint Eastwood. Dennis Lehane has taught at serval different colleges about fiction story writing.



This novel was so good that it was made into a movie in 2003.  The movie was named after the book Mystic River and the movie won many awards. Lehane is thought of as one of the best fiction writers now.  One thing that boosted his popularity is President Bill Clinton naming him as his favorite author.


My thoughts of the story is that it is a very complex and interesting novel, with many dramatic turns and climactic changes that makes this a very good book.  I recommend it for people who love great writing and mystery stories. The movie is also great. I also recommend Dennis Lehane’s other books such as “Gone, Baby, Gone”, “Sacred” and “Prayers For Rain”.

To Kill a Mockingbird Book Review

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Melanie Harrington Q1

Earth Stream

To Kill a Mockingbird Book Review

Harper Lee’s compelling classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, forever touches the hearts and minds of those who read it. Harper Lee created a thought provoking world that would not soon be forgotten. While the genre may be fiction, the book is anything but. It still remains today to be one of the best books ever written and over 30 million copies have been sold worldwide since its publishing date in July of 1960. Upon it’s release it generated a lot of controversy and uproars among its readers. A few aspects of the book are perceived to have come from Lee’s experiences and life in her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird is the only piece of writing she ever published.  It is amazing how someone’s first and only book turned into a worldwide best seller, won the Pulitzer Prize and several other awards and was adapted into an Oscar Award winning movie. To Kill a Mockingbird is still taught in classrooms across the nation today.


Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Lee developed an interest in writing and literature during her high school years. When she graduated in 1944 she attended the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Unlike many of the girls who attended, Lee focused less on fashion and boys and more on her studies and writing. It wasn’t until after she transferred to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and enrolled in a law program that she took all of her focus away from writing, when she finally confessed to her family that it was her true calling. Soon after, at twenty-three years old, Lee dropped her law studies and moved to New York City to follow her dreams. With the help and financial support from new founded friends, Lee finished her manuscript of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1959.


This mind blowing novel follows the life of a family living in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The world may be changing but Maycomb is in no hurry. Racism and gossip are prevalent in this small town. An innocent black man is put on trial by the word of a white man and Atticus Finch, lawyer and single father of two kids, is put on the case. Atticus faces the scrutiny of the town and his family for openly defending a black man and the choices he makes when raising his children. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch takes us through her early years and the events that all add up to the trial, all the while opening our eyes to the many themes brought up in the book.


To Kill a Mockingbird is not based on any one topic in particular. Every event undergone by Scout and her brother, Jem, bring up a new theme for discussion. Childhood, parenthood, innocence, justice, social norms and racism are a few that recur throughout the novel.  Every theme is interconnected and the transitions are flawless.


Society is ever changing. All of the unspoken rules we abide by without question are created and upheld by society. Face forward in an elevator, not back, bring a gift to the host or hostess, don’t take your shoes off unless you’re at home, call before you show up, fill up the gas tank before you return a borrowed car. We follow these rules every day and don’t even realize it. It just comes naturally to us because it’s the way we were brought up. We watched others do these things and assumed we had to as well.


Society and it’s norms force us to do one of two things. The first is to conform into society’s ideal person. This means following all the rules, spoken and unspoken, following trends in style and technology, making sure that you meet every standard and resemble every other person around you, in every aspect, in order to fit in. The second thing society forces us to do is break away and rebel on our own. This means standing alone, being different, and not following the set rules and guidelines to life.


Throughout the book society has an impact on the way people present themselves. Atticus, the wise and very observant lawyer, sees the flaws in the way society is made up but can not speak up about it because it would be frowned upon greatly. The choices he makes when raising his kids are scrutinized by the entire town and speaking out would only cause more trouble. Scout is in a constant battle of fitting her aunt’s idea of a perfect lady. Even Boo Radley, the town shut in, battles with fitting in on a daily basis. On the other hand, the Ewells, the sleaziest white family in Maycomb, actively rebel against society. The children run wild, they don’t go to school, aren’t polite and collect free money like a shelf collecting dust. They refuse to be a part of the black and white sea that is society and instead prefer to make a sea all of their own.


To Kill a Mockingbird is recommended to anyone looking for a good historical fiction or drama book or someone who is interested in one of the topics listed above. Considering there is some mature content throughout the book it is not recommended that children who are not mature enough to handle it read it. Do not force yourself to read this book if you are uninterested. It will ruin your reading experience. Come back when you grow a little older and see how you like it. You won’t ever regret picking up this book if you do and the life lessons will stay with you forever.


Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Publisher: J. B. Lippincott

Date of publication: 1960

Number of pages: 384

Genre: historical fiction, drama, suspense, legal


English BM Q1: Audrey's Book Review

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​Audrey Pham
BM Q1 

"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green 

This is charcoal artwork done by me. I sketched out a pair of lungs with cancer masses (those black balls on the left lungs) to represent Hazel's thyroid cancer. I wrote "Imperial Affliction" because that is the name of the book that pulled Hazel and Gus together. The amputee leg represents Gus' leg that was lost to osteosarcoma cancer. 

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A 2006 award Printz winner, reached number one on New York Times Best Seller List for The Fault in Our Stars in January 2013, and made it into ALA’s Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults. He is John Green. John Green is a young adult fiction writer, a youtube vlogger and an educator. John Green was inspired to write this book because of a youtube vlogger name Esther Earl. She was sixteen years old and passed away from Thyroid cancer. Two years later, he dedicated this book to her. I heard about this book from numerous friends in school, on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, magazines, television, just everywhere. I refused to read this book for a long time because those I know who read it, said it was a very sad book about two people with cancer. Hearing that too many times, I had no interest in picking up the book because I’ve watched too many movies about characters with cancer. Book and movies are very similar to me, except reading a book, you are able to repeat certain words or phrases, maybe even lines that could make you think so deeply. And each time I did, it would break my heart because it’s just so upsetting. Finally, one day, I decided to pick up The Fault in Our Stars and read it out of curiosity.

The Fault in Our Stars isn’t your typical cancer genre book. It isn’t your stereotypical teenage love story. Hazel is 16 year old. She’s a quirky, smart, community college student. She is obsessed with her favorite book “The Imperial Affliction” and has a desire to meet the author, Peter Van Houten, one day. She’s suffers everyday from fluid filling up in her lungs by tumors. Gus is 17 years old, he’s a handsome, humorous, charming, brilliant amputee who enjoys most of his time playing video games, reading poetry or hanging out with his one eyed best friend, Isaac. Gus is in a remission of osteosarcoma. During a cancer support therapy group session, Hazel notices Gus staring at her, the two meet and casually become friends. Hazel talks about her favorite book to Gus and he decides to give it try. The two become instantly attached which results to a beautiful, twisted, unpredictable romance.

I didn’t know cancer books can be filled with such beautiful, happy, heart melting memories until I finished The Fault in Our Stars. It’s not filled with constant tragic that you would think. It’s pure mutual love between two people who have limited times and they can make the best out of it. There’s a very beautiful theme of this book which is...value your youth and cherish what you have left because this book does affirm that life is truly and unfortunately short. Of course, in the story, there is pain, struggle and terrible circumstances but it is well balanced out.

The way John Green writes is very powerful. He is able to suck you into the setting with very few characters in the plot. Hazel and Gus were the stars of this story and he can keep it interesting until you are done with the last page of the book. And that is my problem when I read. If I put a book down, it is most likely because it was boring and I got tired of hearing from the main characters. The second I picked up The Fault in Our Stars, I spent the next four hours of my day reading it non stop. Because the characters were so unique and I honestly felt like I was Hazel, myself falling in love with a hot amputee who is attracted to me.

So I’ve read dozens of pretty sad books and I’ve never cried once, until I came across The Fault in Our Stars. That is exactly the reason why I will never forget about this book. I shed my first tear for fictional characters in a book when I finished The Fault in Our Stars. The fact that I actually cried because of Hazel and Gus’ beautiful chemistry for each other, is a big deal to me. John Green was able to make me feel so overwhelmed over these characters on paper, it’s just crazy. After I finished crying, I immediately called my boyfriend of almost two years and told him that I love him and that I appreciate his existence. Sounds pretty sappy, but this book made me realize how I should really value my physically healthy relationship and my own well being.

My favorite quote from this book (not giving away a spoiler, I promise) was when Gus told Hazel “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” After I read this quote, I shouted “exactly!” outloud to myself. Why? Because that’s how I felt about this book. This book is so powerful in every way that I just felt like everyone needed to read it. Which is why I chose this book to write a book review on.

In no doubt, I promise you this is a book to remember once you give it a try. Remember to keep a box of tissues next to you while reading it. Don’t worry, these tears will be from enjoying the book, loving the characters, and overall, appreciating a beautiful, well written story by John Green.

Book Information:

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Date of Publication: January 10, 2012

Number of Pages: 313

Genre: Young adult novel

English Q1: The Beautiful and Damned

William B. Amari

October 17, 2013


20th in the 21st: Literary Review 

The Beautiful And Damned By F. Scott Fitzgerald.


In 1920, before Fitzgerald was Fitzgerald, before the Great Gatsby, before Paris, before Hollywood, before most English literature lessons of today, Mr. Fitzgerald was a struggling alcoholic writer from Minnesota. He wrote a lot and partied a lot and wrote some more. Eventually Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald managed to write his first novel. Published in 1921, this novel, This Side of Paradise, granted him overnight fame and fortune. It became an instant best seller and along with his newfound fame, Fitzgerald won over the woman he loved— a southern belle named Zelda Sayre— soon to be known as Ms. Fitzgerald. 

Fitzgerald always had potential. He was young, talented and a romantic believer in the American Dream. He was always looking through the windows of the rich, perceiving them for what they are and for what they are not. All eyes were on him now; on the new celebrity couple as their fans waited for Fitzgerald to produce his next masterpiece. In 1922 Fitzgerald released his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned. 

The title, The Beautiful and Damned is a most fitting title for such a book. In it, Fitzgerald writes beautifully, commits to his modernistic style and doesn’t apologize for it. But the grace of his style cannot quite make up for such a tragic plot. Almost none of the main characters are likable or show any of sign of decent humanity. Instead they are spoiled, lazy, irresponsible, unfriendly and disloyal. Because of his wealthy background, the main character, Anthony Patch, lacks any sort of ambition. In fact, he is extravagant, snobby and infantile. 

His leading lady, Gloria Gilbert, modeled on Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda, is the heroine. She is the true siren, attractive to all men who pass her way. Her hobbies unfortunately, consist of drinking and self indulgence and her passion is celebrity. She is beautiful and naive, and as quoted in the book, “She was dazzling -- alight; it was agony to comprehend her beauty in a glance.” 

The novel takes off when Anthony marries Gloria Gilbert and their troubles start to come to light. Throughout the novel they have many arguments and quarrel constantly. It seems they are in love with the idea of each other, valuing this over actual love, ambition and health. Besides this, both of them drink alcoholic beverages constantly. A common theme found in modernist literature, is that the main characters drink to forget and escape issues that they have created due to their own faults and they are unable to acknowledge their own shortcomings. This is precisely what happens in The Beautiful and Damned. When Anthony and his friends say, “Here’s to alcohol, the rose colored glasses of life.” They mean that alcohol, for these characters, is life itself. In fact, Anthony drinks so much that he is unable to function without it. 

Essentially this novel is about beautiful people living ugly lives. What happens when an heir—born with immense wealth, who studies in Europe, then graduates from Harvard—has everything he needs to succeed and yet completely screws up? The result is Anthony Patch, the “D” in Damned. He, the main character, perpetually fails at everything he attempts. 

Fitzgerald's third person writing itself, is beautiful and damned. Parts of the novel reveal tiny bits of brilliance, truly showing why Fitzgerald is the Great American Author. His use of vocabulary in the book is beautiful and inspiring but perhaps too impressive for its own good. Fitzgerald writes densely, using many words, but there are times where it just gets a little too verbose. Contemporary readers could find this 20th century classic a little old fashioned, making it difficult for them to make connections. The long conversations between Anthony and his friends, Dick and Maury are humdrum and overblown— confusing and unnecessary to the plot. However, towards the final part of the book, when the setting transitions to times of “The Great War” and the book starts to pick up. You are instantly engaged in Anthony as he wanders through the southern countryside. This part of the book is a new experience for Anthony and the reader. 

Fitzgerald will always engage you into the world that he writes about and The Beautiful and Damed is no exception. When reading you will instantly feel welcomed even into Anthony’s world of futility. It will frustrate you to observe young Anthony's constant failures. The books general atmosphere is blankness yet you feel hopeful for Anthony and believe that he might eventually find success. Fitzgerald is cunning in his use of pseudo-realism, using his description of young marriage as a decoy. The Beautiful and Damned is more of an analysis of up-scale youth than an actual novel. Parties were numerous, people destroyed things and accidents happened. Aimless strolls through Manhattan, country drives and whiskey binges are some of the most common themes in this novel. 

This book may not surpass Fitzgerald's 1925 classic, The Great Gatsby, but it still belongs on the bookshelf of the truest of literary fanatics. The Beautiful and Damned deserves your patience. Its a heavy novel but a worthy challenge. Most people will get a lot out of this novel, especially those who are trying to enrich their knowledge of early 20th century literature. It also deserves a ton of street-cred from those on the intellectual road. Everyone will eventually read or already has read Gatsby, but how many people can say that they read this semi-masterpiece? The Beautiful and Damned is not for the casual reader— it belongs to the most devoted Fitzgerald fans and to those who truly admire his use of the English language.


Book Information: 

Title: The Beautiful and Damned

Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Sons

Date of Publishing: 1922

Pages: 422

Genre: Fiction 

Descubren más de 400 Especies en el Amazonas


Quarter 1

25-10-13

Alejandro Marothy

Señorita Manuel


Descubren más de 400 Especies en el Amazonas


Recientemente, mucho nuevas especies fue descubrieron en el Amazonas. Muchos nuevos tipos de animales. ¡Es increíble! Al menos 441 plantes y animales encontraron. Animales como peces, anfibios, y reptiles. Muchos nuevo aves fue encontraron. Aves son hermosas pero estúpido. Una especie de lagarto fue descubrió que casi extinguido. Afortunadamente, los científicos encontraron unos huevos y salvó el lagarto.

Es muy importante que nosotros nos escargamos de la bosque tropical. Es importante porque hay muchas especies y no sabemos. Si, muchas especies se extinguen cada día, pero es bueno para proteger a los que no. 

Me encanta naturaleza y plantes y animales. Estoy triste cuando se van extinto. Un día espero poder visitar el bosque tropical y el Amazonas. ¿Si no hay animales, no plantes, especies, por qué ir? ¡No hay razón! Esto es por qué quiero proteger el bosque tropical y Amazonas. 

Aprendí mucho de este artículo. Por ejemplo yo aprendí sobre el Amazonas y muchas especies diferentes. Es muy emocionante cuando descubrimientos científicos suceden. Aprendí nuevo vocabulario como especies, extinguir, anfibios, naturaleza, bosque tropical, y muchos más. 

Me gusta este artículo porque fue agradable y alegre. Por lo general, yo leo artículos sobre de malvado y mal. Acontecimientos tristes y doloroso leer sobre. Esto era diferente pero agradable.


Número de palabras: 209

Trabajo Citado

EFE. "Latino News and Opinion." Descubren Más De 400 Especies En El Amazonas - . N.p., 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. http://www.pontealdia.com/america-latina/descubren-mas-de-400-especies-en-el-amazonas.html

English Q1 Benchmark: "The Prince"

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Jasir Massey-Campbell

English

Due: 10/25/13

The Prince by Machiavelli


There are many people who crave power, diplomats, politicians, congressman, business owners and more importantly everyday people. The will to be in control is a trait popular among all life. The Prince is a guide to establish a sphere influence and properly maintain a successful government. The renowned author, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 -1527) born in Florence, Italy has gathered one of the most popular collections of chapters regarding the creation and conservation of a potent government. His assembly of strategic chapters allows a reader to immerse themselves in the mind of one of the most profound political analyst. Each page reveals the techniques and strategy of gaining and keeping political control. Machiavelli extensive research reveals his thoughts on conspiracies, merit, goodness, first impressions, flattery and fortune.The book originally drafted in 1513 in Latin was then republished a few years later in 1532 which is 5 years after Machiavelli’s death.

Machiavelli was an historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, and writer in Florence during the Renaissance. For many years Machiavelli was an official in the Florentine Republic. He had responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He is a founder of modern political science and also wrote comedies, songs, and poetry.He wrote The Prince, when the Medici had power and when he no longer held a position of responsibility in Florence.This 16th century writing style, and sophistication of the level of words he incorporates in his piece developed into a poetic language which may take some time to fully understand. There are less than 150 pages yet there are very few who’ve addressed this book as a quick and easy read. Still, well known Universities’ philosophy and political classes use this book because of its deep research. Its is amazing how Machiavelli was able to create a book and still have his knowledge preserved over hundreds of years. He starts his book strong and lays foundation for the tone of the book.


“All states and dominions which hold or have held sway over mankind are either republics or monarchies. Monarchies are either hereditary in which the rulers have been for many years of the same family, or else they are of recent foundation. The newly founded ones are either entirely new, as was the Milan to Francesco Sfroza or else they are, as it were, new members[...]”


A reason that his book is short is because he gets to the point. He supplies the reader with the message he wants to convey and very little of anything else. Machiavelli also chose not to worry about transition. Each chapter is him laying down one point after the other. Chapter after chapter. After chapter one where he talks about the various kinds of government and the way that they are established he dives into the next couple of chapters where he begins describing the subcategories of government.  


I had high expectations for this book and all expectations were met. Even reading this book twice, I am still looking forward in continuing my studies of this book as well as other popular books regarding government. What struck me was how powerful and true this book is. Many of these tactics in many areas of profession are still used today. This showed how precise his research had to have been. This is a reason why he is one of the most important people in the realm of political science. I would suggest to someone who is truly interested in the knowledge this book possesses, to really devote and invest their time on every sentence so that they may fully procure the information. Many who enjoy reading philosophy may also be interested in The 48 Laws or Power by Robert Greene which is a similar book in which it talks about how to build and maintain influence.  Philosophy is important because these skills are not just for people who want to gain economic power but can be used by anyone who seek to gain an advantage over an enemy. The Prince is a good read regardless of what genre is of preference. Even if one may not fully be able to understand all of the ideas, which many still do not, they will be able to find at minimal one thing that could potentially better themselves.


Title: The Priince

Author: Machiavelli

Publisher: Antonio Blado d'Asola.

Date of publication: 1532

Number of pages: 127

Genre: Philosophy


English Q1 Benchmark

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​For my creative aspect of this benchmark, I decided to redesign the cover of the book. I felt that the cover, while somewhat visually interesting, didn't exactly convey much about the book. I took this photo myself, and overlayed it on a map of India. The image on the locket is of Ganesh, the Hindu god of overcoming obstacles. I thought this fit extremely well with themes in the stories.


The struggle with short stories is the limited space and the need for enough information, enough plot, enough character development, to get the point across. Short stories are speed dating for those not quite willing to commit to a full length novel. Jhumpa Lahiri does not shy away from the daunting task of short stories and her product is nothing short of amazing. 

Jhumpa Lahiri is the daughter of Indian immigrants, born in London but spending the majority of her childhood in Long Island, New York. Lahiri often refers to herself as American, once saying “I wasn’t born here, but I might as well have been.” While The Interpreter of Maladies is Lahiri’s debut publication, it is anything but amateur. The book was even the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize Award, which reportedly came as “quite a shock” to Lahiri. After taking a look at the book, however, it is not a shock to readers. The book itself tells the stories of India natives either still residing in India, or immigrants to America. She wrote the book in 1999, drawing observations from her family, and immigrants she met while growing up. 

Lahiri expertly navigates the world of short stories with an artful hand. The novel contains nine different stories, which delve into idea of marriage and the trials that accompany it.    For the most part, the stories are not about heartbreak. They are not about a climactical moment where everything falls apart, but about the characters. Her stories are not about the drama, not about how many twists she can place in one short story, but how the characters deal with their lives. The characters in these stories all deal with a certain amount of miscommunication. In any of the stories, there is evidence of one character not understand another, and that is what led to the majority of heartbreak.  The novel is about the opportunities that the characters have as they face the collapse of their idea of marriage is or should be. Opportunities to remake their lives, to revitalize the love in their relationships, or to move on. With each page, the sympathetic disappointment one feels is transformed into a thirst for the age old question; what comes next?

With nine different stories in one book, and each one dealing with the struggle of marriage, it would be easy for the anecdotes to become repetitive. Lahiri does not bend to that, however, crafting each character uniquely and constructing each situation exclusively. Her characters appeal to the hearts of readers, and the result is not disappointing. One cannot help but ache for the young couple trapped in the familiarity of their marriage, dealing with the heartbreak of their stillborn child silently and letting their marriage fall around them. One cannot help but hurt for Boori Ma, the old widow who spends her days sweeping the staircase of an apartment building, until the tenants are overcome with greed and chase her out. Each story is a look into our world. Lahiri studies society in a way unlike those before her. She examines cultural restraints, and notes how our affections simultaneously defy and preserve such constrictions. 

Jhumpa Lahiri uses such expressive language that it is impossible to read her work without feeling affected. Her words are used to build a world around the reader, and to invite them into the world she’s created. Her language is powerful, and leaves the reader with a choice. What is taken away from the stories is not printed, it is not handed to you. What is taken away from the book will be different for everyone. 

For me, the highlight of the book lies in the seventh story, This Blessed House. Sanjeev and Twinkle are newlyweds, exploring their new house in Hartford, Connecticut. Whilst looking around, they begin to unearth several garish Christian decorations. Twinkle is immediately drawn to them, laughing, and wanting to put them all over the house. Sanjeev, however, is more conscious of their Hinduism, and fears what his coworkers and neighbors will think if they saw the decorations. Sanjeev begins to regard Twinkle as an unknown; he doesn’t understand her spontaneity, and is uncomfortable with her rash decision making. When throwing a house warming party, his colleagues are immediately drawn to Twinkle’s enigmatic ways. Lahiri intricately designs Twinkle to be a character with impulsive tendencies that directly crash with Sanjeev’s deliberate lifestyle. Twinkle, in some ways, bears a likeness to the book in general. Once acquainted, you’re left with a simple “wow”. 

In many ways, one cannot ask for more if looking for a book of compelling short stories. Lahiri exceeds any and all expectations. While many people have never experienced some of the ideas in the stories, it is easy to look beyond the plot with Lahiri’s writings, and sense the overarching themes and insights that she is making. This makes the book relevant to a very diverse group of people. If you are just delving into the world of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies is an excellent place to start. 



Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri, Published by Mariner Books in 1999, 198 pages, Fiction


English Benchmark: "A Thousand Splendid Suns"

Artist note: Interview above is a fictional interview that I have created with one of the main characters of the book, Laila. This interview does contain spoilers so do not listen if you plan on reading the book!


“A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini is a beautifully crafted novel following the lives of two Afghan women through heartbreak, triumph and the challenges that they face within their culture. 

Hosseini is an award-winning author; this book in particular spent four weeks as the #1 book in the nation, as well as being #1 on almost every national bestseller list including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and many more. This book also appeared on multiple end of year best-of lists, including the #1 Worldwide Bestselling title in 2008, Time- Ten Best Books: Fiction, Washington Post- Best Books of 2007 and more. Between “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and Hosseini’s first bestseller, “The Kite Runner”, more than 38 million copies have been sold worldwide.

This story is set in Afghanistan and begins in the mid-1900s, where you introduced to a teenage girl named Mariam, who lives with her mother. Through a series of heartbreaking events, Mariam finds herself stranded in a seemingly unfixable family situation, where her father decides to solve the problem by marrying her off to a middle-aged man whom she has never met before. However, since arranged marriage is a social norm in Afghanistan and women are given no power, Mariam must accept this new situation, no matter how alone she feels.

In the second piece of this story, readers are introduced to another girl named Laila, who has a pleasant family life and lives down the street from Mariam and her husband, Rasheed. Similar to Mariam, Laila is tossed into a situation of utter helplessness and family turmoil. Since the streets are unsafe and plagued with war, and since Laila is a women and has no rights to move to a new place, she is brought into the household of Mariam and Rasheed, where Rasheed marries her as well.

From this point in time, readers begin to see the relationship between Mariam and Laila unfold as wives of the same man. While they have a rocky start, their friendship soon grows deeply and in ways only possible in their situations. This friendship withstands lost loves returning, pregnancies, an extremely abusive husband and in the final test of friendship, the ultimate act of protection.

Throughout this entire novel, Hosseini makes a few themes extremely clear. The first major motif is the Afghan culture, which is unique, fascinating and heartbreaking at times and experienced through characters in the book. As readers are taken through the lives of these women, Hosseini paints pictures of weddings, the food, the country of Afghanistan, but mostly about the values of the culture, specifically the inequality of genders. He shows each of these themes throughout the story in invigorating ways using the stories of Laila and Mariam. The other major message explored is that of the bonds of friendship and family. From chapter one, Hosseini captivates readers with questioning of the value of relationships between relatives, acquaintances, spouses and even strangers; how far is one willing to go to protect someone they love?

There are countless ways that this book exceeded my expectations as an avid reader. I’ve always disliked books with either too much dialogue or too much description, but “A Thousand Splendid Suns” had a wonderful balance of both. Hosseini is creative and crafty in the ways that he uses description to speak on behalf of the characters, such as body language or a glimpse into the inner thoughts of characters, but also uses dialogue when words would be most effective. Also, if there’s one thing that I despise, it’s when authors add random plot twists which make no sense and do not benefit the story in the end. What was amazing about this book, however, was that the plot was unpredictable, yet the story made sense in the end. 

There were no major things that I disliked about this book, but the ending did not particularly sit well with me. Throughout the entire novel, Hosseini does so well with letting the reader into the lives and relationships of all of the characters, and does so in a slow way so that you feel as though you have known them for a very very long time. However, at the end of the book, I feel as though it was rushed and the relationships were kept at a shallow level and did not display the depth that was shown previously in the book. While that may have been a literary choice by Hosseini, it was the one point that felt unsettling to me as a reader.

This can be a heavy book for some people due to the difficult topics and issues presented. Challenging situations presented include suicide, abortion and graphic scenes of domestic violence and brutality, which can only be handled with a certain level of maturity. Therefore, I do not suggest this book for younger readers, only those who feel like they are ready to read a novel that deal with these matters. 

However, this book needs to be read. It is important. The themes are ones that are intertwined into the lives of every human, no matter how much they might notice them. While it works on a deeper level, this is also an marvelous piece of fiction writing with a captivating and enrapturing story, one that will leave readers wanting more.


And if you are one of those readers who want more, Hosseini recently released a new book, “And the Mountains Echoed”, which is next on my “to-read” list. Check it out here.



"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Published by Riverhead Books on May 22, 2007. 384 pages. Fiction novel.

Elixir Book Review and Ad

Jasmine Nieves                10/21/13


English 3

Elixir By: Hilary Duff


Elixir is a great book to read if you are really into mystery and love stories. The book itself, the language is very formal and very descriptive. Hilary Duff is one of the best actress’, singer and now a great entrepreneur. She was from a show on Disney Channel known as Lizzie McGuire. Lizzie McGuire was a show that would show girls and some boys how to act with parents, siblings, friends, school related situations in and out of school in the hallway or getting whatever they want from parents. She was always a nice character in the show and many people liked it. When I was little I always used to look up to Hilary Duff. She was both pretty and talented so from me watching her all the time, I liked her even more until the show was over. A few years after the show had ended, I saw the movie, “Beauty and the Briefcase” and I was surprised to see the way she changed. She kissed guys more, wore more short clothing and she even had a little bit of a difference in her look. What was also found out was that she got married to a hockey player and his name was Mike Comrie. Soon after she got married, she had a son and his name was Luca Cruz Comrie. 


The books she had just written soon after the birth of her son, it got me thinking that I should start reading it and I should start liking Hilary Duff again. I loved Disney Channel ever since I was younger and that had always stayed with me. On the on hand,  Elixir had this girl as the main character and her name was Clea Raymond. She was a photojournalist. She was famous because of her mom and her Dad. Her dad worked at some big business industry that Clea just had to help him out. Her mom on the other hand worked for the Senate. Clea had a boyfriend, a friend and other people along her path along the book. What Clea has done already in the book as a photojournalist is that she noticed that a guy kept following her since her trip to Paris at the beginning of the book. Since she found out that the person kept following her, she keeps having dreams about him. Then at some point in the middle of the book, while running, she twists her ankle and the guy from her dreams finally became a real person. Clea would also just go back and forth to see about the man. Her boyfriend, who was from Paris was trying to protect her and tell the guy to let go of thinking about her and then he realized that he shouldn’t have done that. To include more about Hilary Duff than what you know already is Elixer is part of its own book series. The other books which is part of the series is Devoted and True. Its a continuum of the story Elixir. They are other notable books she’s made with another another.This book exceeds my expectations because of the feeling the book has given to me while reading the story. Where the story falls short to my expectations that a man kept stalking this girl around and she became very suspicious about it. She is a hard worker like all of us because she trys a lot out on her own. That’s why she also became famous. That’s what all counts in life is if you just try. That’s all that matters. People who might enjoy this book are the people who are fans of Hilary Duff, like me.  


Clea Raymond is in this love triangle and is on a dangerous mission to find her father after his disappearing. Her being an author influenced Hilary Duff just being done singing and acting. So that means after she became a singer/ actress, her writing career had been taken place. What people may or may not know is that the book came out on October of 2010. What Hilary has said what got her writing books is she likes when the book just takes you away meaning she also likes when she sees the pictures of what she’s reading in her mind as she’s reading. She hoped and wanted to start her own book series and Elixir just had to the first book in the series. The book itself is a mystery but its also a paranormal and a romance. She has also been interested in paranormal stories. So if you like any of these types of genres of books, I recommend for you to get the book. She also likes the feel of how other authors just keep writing their books non stop. Her mother was a big support of hers when she started writing. What also inspired her to write is that ever since she was little, she’s been writing poems. For all you Hunger Game movie fans, she likes the book too. So if you like Hunger Games and like Hilary Duff, I also recommend you to read the book. This book is for young adults. One of the quotes she said was, “...finding yourself and breaking out of the mold that people put you in.” She took a challenge and started writing. Writing books could be challenging but not to her or any of the other actors. What's really interesting about her when she was writing her book was that she was planning her wedding.



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Screenshot 2013-10-24 20.16.33

Girls Volleyball in Semi-Finals!

[written by Jasmin Hussain]​

Congratulations to SLA's girls volleyball team for making it to the district semifinals! The team is having a terrific year in the Gold Division. They won three back to back games last Thursday and Monday-- first, winning 3-2 sets against Bodine, then 3-0 against Lincoln which concluded the season. The girls went on to play against CAPA and got their first playoff win ever with 3-1 sets. The Rockets have made it to the finals and will play Masterman this Friday, October 25th.

At the CAPA playoff game, sophomore Malwina Dymek once again scored multiple consecutive points putting SLA in the lead. Co-captian Leah Petty joined forces with SLA-Beeber freshmen Alisa Foster by setting the balls and hitting them over to the other side flawlessly.  All in all, the girls were quite impressive on the court!

This season has been one of the most challenging seasons the Rockets have faced, yet the team is playing tough, showing great teamwork, and working hand in hand with Coach Hirschfield to make it this far. Go Rockets!



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A Child Called "It"

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​Book Review

Dave Pelzer's first book in this series is phenomenal. What actually happened to him as a child is hard to imagine. This was a number one New York Times bestseller for months and is an inspirational story. What looked like the best childhood a kid could possibly ask for turns into a nightmare in this traumatic boy’s life. Dave Pelzer wasn’t the only child, he had two brothers he hated because they never experienced the same pain that his mother put him through. As a child, he never understood why his mother hated him so much.

Dave's mother was abusive. Because of her disgusting actions towards him as a child, he had to face the emotional and physical scarring she would bring him. Dave begins facing a battle between the school staff and his own mother. His mother, known as the “evil bitch,” Dave states, instilled fear in him while the school staff tried to comfort and weaken him to tell the truth. Pressured by his environmental surroundings and harsh conditions, Dave begins thinking whether he should run away or not. He has no choice but to try to seek help from his father. After realizing that his father doesn’t want to acknowledge his abuse because of his fear of his wife, Dave decides to take matters on his own hands and make his big decision.

David Pelzer is an inspiration to myself and his book has impacted me because he reveals to the world that not every family is perfect. He also shows how people don’t know what really goes on in one’s family behind closed doors. At a young age, I had to develop a strong mentality and become independent. David Pelzer’s childhood showed that he too had developed these same traits. Despite the abuse, I would say that I’m similar to David because throughout the book he demonstrates perseverance and motivates himself to do great things. This is how I view myself.

David Pelzer’s abuse wasn’t just ordinary. His mother did things such as burning his hand on the stovetop, trying to put him in the oven, and even locking him in a bathroom full of horrible toxicants. This made me wonder the childhood of his mother because such horrific actions done by the mother reflects the idea that she may have in fact been abused or even neglected as a child, herself. I believe in the idea that people inflict pain on other people who are vulnerable because they are angry at themselves and they find pleasure in hurting others. This is my perspective on David’s mother. If she would have been raised correctly instead of being possibly neglected or abused, she would have never tried to hurt David. David’s mother’s childhood is what caused the corruption in her mind and is the essential reason as to why she is numb to others feelings.

Many books have their levels of interest. This book exceeded expectations for many reader’s simply because it is original and I must include that it is a Non-Fiction book. David Pelzer’s is a master of imagery because of his ability to descriptively write and relive the moment. His word choice is phenomenal because he makes the reader feel as if they too can feel his pain. This book was very impressive because of the idea of centralizing the abusive life of ones family into a kids perspective.

Although the book was impressive in a lot of ways, there were parts of the book in which may the book seem less appealing. The book fell off when David Pelzer decided to include his father. As a child, you don’t fully understand why adults act the way they do but this there’s no excuse for the father. I believe that the father was represented as a bad guy in this book simply because he should of known that Dave’s mother was mentally sick. I believe that no matter how careless one may seem, it is in every normal human being’s nature to react to such violence. The idea of David’s mother making him eat his own vomit and having him sleep on newspapers like a dog while the father wants to help but still doesn’t seems a little outrageous.

This book reaches out to an audience who loves Non-Fiction books that pertain to abuse in ones life. This book should be recommended to those who don’t like books that are cheerful and happy but instead is dark and graphic. If you like reading books and include a catalogue of horrible incidents, then you’ll love this book.

A Child Called “It”, David Peltzer, September 1st, 157 pages, Non-Fiction


"The Bluest Eye"

“Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father’s baby that the marigolds did not grow.”  Who’s Pecola? How did she end up pregnant by her father? What the heck do Marigolds growing have to do with any of this? If you're anything like me the start of this book made questions began to pop up in your head. The first sentence succeed in catching my eye. Did it catch yours? This quote is from the book “The Bluest Eye” Toni Morrison. A novel full of lust, love, racism, drama, and american comedy written in the time of the 1940’s.

“The Bluest Eye” is categorized as a fictional novel. The author Toni Morrison, talks about a year in a black girl named Pecola Breedlove life. Pecola is facing the reality of  becoming a pre-teen/teenager. The struggle and shame of her family and how she looks. The story takes place in Lorain, Ohio Fall of 1941-summer of 1942.  It was published in 1970 as Toni Morrison's first novel. This is a very informal written book. Its written in third person, and told mostly by Pecola and Claudia. The smaller characters have some isolated dialogue about their lives as well.

Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio. Just so happens to be that thats where the inspiration of the setting came for the book. Some of her favorite authors as a child include Jane Austen and Leo Tolstoy. She studied at Howard University, receiving her B.A in english. Then went on to her Cornell University to earn her “Masters of Arts Degree” in English. Morrison has done many things before she published her first novel (in 1970). She taught at Yale University and Bard College. Worked as an editor for New York City headquarters of Random house. Random House is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world.

Along with “The Bluest Eye” Toni Morrison has written “Song of Solomon” and “Beloved.” Song of Solomon won the “National Book Critics Circle Award” in 1977. It was the first book written by a black person to win since 1940. Her book “Beloved” caused 48 black critics and writers to protest the fact that the book did not win the “National Book Award” and or “National Book Critics Circle Award.” the protesting worked and shortly after the book won “Pulitzer Prize for Fiction” and the “American Book Award”

Themes found within this book include racism. Using whiteness as the standard of  beauty. Insest, sexual abuse from Pecolas father and many others. Throughout the book there are many important symbols. References to the bluest eye as symbolizing beauty. Marigolds in comparison to pregnancy. This book is a great read for all ages over fifthteen. It is one of those books you don’t put down, just keep reading and reading. The main tone of the characters include lyrical, and slang from the 1940’s. I strongly recommend this book to all willing to read. this book gives you a different insight on life. Many people can relate to the conflicts that come along as you read. Such as rape/ molestation, school life and struggle with parents, struggle as parents. Morrisons beginning reason for writing the bluest eye was due to the “Black is Beautiful Movement” tried to reclaim African-American Beauty. Some factors of the family dynamic for Claudia came for Toni’s own life experience with her parents.

Toni Morrison is a smart and intelligent writer. Although the bluest eye was not an immediate success its a book that all 14 and up, boy and girl should read. Its a book you won't want to put down. the interest and rise of the story stays constant throughout the entire reading. After reading this book it will give you a different more appreciative outlook on life, yours and the world around you. It makes you think deeper about race, sexuality, social and economical class.


Spanish journal #8

Obama después de el crisis

El pais 10/18/2013


vocab

cierre - shutdown

por suerte- luckily

negar - deny (v)

proyecto de ley

rechazar - reject (v)

miembros - members

esperanza - hope


El mundo sabe sobre el cierre de nuestro gobierno. Personas en todo del mundo saben  que el presidente y los republicanos en congress no realmente estan amigos. Este desacuerdo fue un parte de el cierre. Por suerte, el cierre terminó y lo ve que Obama está ganando.Después del lío que los republicanos hicieron, Obama hice dos cosas importantes, primero fijaba las problemas con su healthcare universal. Muchos de los estados le niegan ese proyecto de ley, y ahora hablador Boehner no esta teniendo la culpa para las problemas con el sito de Obama. Segunda, Obama va a hacer un nuevo proyecto de ley sobre reforma inmigración, Y después del debacle sobre atención de la salud. Pienso que los republicanos van a tratar rechazar todos de sus proyectos. Pienso que nuestro presidente está tratando a hacer un trabajo bueno, y fijar este país pero Boehner y los miembros del Tea Party solamente quieran a hacer más problemas por Obama. Escuché a las entrevistas de Boehner y incluso Bill O'reilly. Si ellos estan los iconos de los republicanos, tengo poco esperanza para ellos.


English Q1 BM (Book Review)- Julian Makarechi

Julian Makarechi

WATER

10/25/13


Open

He was the youngest of four siblings, but his father gave him all his attention, as if he only had one child to take care of. His dad had already planned out his whole life and that he would be forced to do what his father said. Most kids who become number one in the world at something when they are older, usually are destined to do it or have an inner passion for being successful. Not for Andre Agassi; he never wanted to be one of the best tennis players in the world, he did not even want to be top 200 in the world. He could have cared less about it. His father deemed Andre the “chosen one” out of all of his children. Emmanuel Agassi committed most of his time making sure Andre knew everything about tennis there was to know. Not one day went by that Andre was not being tortured by the rigor of tennis that his father put him through.

The only thing he cared about, or was forced to care about, was tennis; school did not even matter, as long as he was making his father happy by playing tennis. Mr. Agassi would do anything it would take for his son to be pro, even if that meant sending him miles away from his home, family and best friend, Perry, in Florida. After realizing his son could not handle the workload from school along with his hours of daily tennis, he decided to completely forget about school and solely concentrate on tennis.

Emmanuel, informally known as Mike, was a former olympian who never seemed to be the best husband or father, but was still a reason for the triumphant life that Andre went on to have. Andre had so many people to thank; his lovers, coaches and counselors were his team. He would look out for them and they would look out for him. It was as if his coach was on the court with him too--they were teammates.

Whether you know Andre Agassi from his crazy hair, old commercials or battles with Pete Sampras, you probably have heard of him before. Andre wants to tell the world what his life was like and the struggles he went through. He really makes the reader think about the important things and people in his life. Andre wants you to think about when it is a good time to hold back, take a break or go full throttle and give it all you have. What will your priorities be and how will you reach them? When you are criticized or others don’t believe in you, will you stay down or rise up and prove them wrong?

Throughout this book, there are many wonderful dialogues that can really make you chuckle between Andre and his trainer. You can really see how much they love each other through the words; it is almost like you can see what their facial expressions are just because of the style of writing. Andre Agassi uses so many creative and descriptive words that give the text a beautiful flow. The way he depicts his hardships, breakups and injuries is very impressive. You end up thinking that those things are actually happening to you and you know exactly what it feels like. During the recaps and depictions of the games he played, there is so much suspense that you cannot stop reading. He lets the reader know what he is thinking and what his body is feeling in the process of every game in a remarkable way. However, since his style of writing is so realistic, occasionally there is some foul language.

A part that really stood out to me was when he was having a problem with a woman he was seeing. He did a great job of writing everything that was going on in that moment of his life. He gave you all the reasons why he made his decisions and why he knew that he was doing the right thing. Even though that part is one of the saddest parts in the whole book, I loved how Agassi wrote it.

One aspect of his life that I wished I could have experienced more was the relationship that he had with his sister. Throughout the book, she is rarely mentioned and you get the idea that they were not that close. If that was the case, then I wish that he had told the reader about that part of his life more.

People who are interested in reading this book should have a solid base of tennis knowledge in order to understand key moments throughout Andre’s life. Knowing a thing or two about other great tennis players is a plus as well, because it allows you to visualize Andre’s games against those players even better. I feel that if you want to enjoy this book, you should also be patient as you read about his life. Whether all you want to read about is his life as a pro or you think that all the matches get boring, after a while, you need to sit tight and keep on going.


“Open, an Autobiography” by Andre Agassi, published by AKA Publishing, Date of publication: August 2010, 400 pages, Autobiography.


Mi Vida Loca


Hola, mi nombre es Taylor Veasley, pero gente me llama TJ a veces. Inscrita en el registro civil de Filidelphia el 24 de septiembre de 1996. He estado tocar un piano y la guitarra desde yo era siete años. Yo era en el equipo de remo, es muy estresante pero es mucho divertido también. Ella es morena, alta, robusto, y lleves las gafas. Tiene una hermana y hermano y ella vive en la casa con sus padres y sus gato.

Gente dicen yo soy gracioso, amable, intelligente, y extrovertida, pero yo pienso otras cosas. Yo pienso yo soy simpatica a veces, graciosa y intelectual. No intelligente siempre porque a veces las cosas confusidad a me. Cuando gente mira me ellos pienso yo estoy extraño. Yo llevar la ropa extraño todos las dias. Estoy puedo extrovertida pero yo puedo introvertida tambien.


Me molesta mucho cuando las personas estar antipatco o hipocrita a otras personas. Me molesta ninos y insectos. Yo quiero los gatos, el remo, las bicicletas, la playa, mis amigos, mi familia, y las novelas. Yo quiero cosas más que las cosas me molesta.

Mis relaciones académicas es bien. Mis conserjeria y yo nos llevamos bien,ellos es muy gracioso, amiable, y intelligente. Mis conserjero es Senor Miles, me darisa, es el profesoro bien porque el es aututoritario y simpatico. Mis profesora favorita es Senora Manuel, porque ella es graciosa y ella clase es muy divertido. Yo aprender mucho en la clase de Senora Manuel. Me cae bien con todos los personas en mis escuela porque SLA tienes personas ese esta asambroso. Mi mejor amiga me cae mejor.

Yo tengo cinco mejor amigas. Morgan Marant es mi mejor amiga porque ella me dansa y me entiende. Ella es graciosa, extrovertida, amable, intelligente, y muy segura. Ella es en South Carolina para la universidad pero ella visitara para Thanksgiving. Ella es como mi hermana. Mi mejor amiga es una bien amiga y te amo ella. Ja’nine y Jorden es mi otros mejor amigas, yo pienso ellas desda yo era nacido. Ellas es muy differente pero misma, ellas es muy graciosa, bonita, un poco antipatico, y muy intelligente. Pero ellas es differente Ja’nine es un poco engreído y extrovertida, y Jorden es introvertida y segura pero no engreído.  Brielle y Tyra es mi amigas mejor tambien, ellas son como mí a veces. Pero ellas tienes intereses differente. Yo tengo muchas amigas mejor pero todos las ellas son asombroso.

Mis relaciones con mis padres es bien. Mis padres y mí nos llevamos bien. Ellos cuidar de mí y ayudame todos las dias. Mi madre nombre es Roxanne y mi padre nombre es Gerald, ellos han estado juntos para siete y diez años. Nosotros son juntos todo el tiempo, nos hablamos sobre todo.

Me cae bien con mi padre, el es amable, simpatico, y tonto. Me llevo bien mi prima, ella derisa y ella es divertido igual a mi. Mi madre entiende me, nos llevamos bien a veces pero ella es mi amiga mejor. Sin embargo mi tio es differente, el es antipatico y narcissisto, nos llevamos mal. Estos tres personas en mi familia igual a mi a veces. Estoy amable, simpatica, tonta, divertida, antipatica, y narcissista a veces. Gente dicen yo soy gracioso, amable, intelligente, y extrovertida, pero yo pienso otras cosas. Yo pienso yo soy simpatica a veces, graciosa y intelectual. No intelligente siempre porque a veces las cosas confusidad a me.

He estado dijo yo tengo una corazón frío. Este no es cierto en mi opinión, yo tengo una


Yo soy Taylor Veasley. Yo soy muchas cosas pero cuando en final de la dia yo soy Taylor Veasley. Mi máscara es de un humano. Un humano es la mujer, ella tiene un cara feroz. Ella tiene negro cerca de los ojos, y unos diseños todo la cara. Ella tiene las rosas para el pelo. Cuando yo vi la máscara yo pienso es esta la máscara para mí. Mi máscara es la mujer este es fuerte, sensible, trabajador, y bonita. Todos las cosas esta mí.

Invisible Personalidad

Mi nombre es Sadie Sprague-Lott, yo soy inscrita en el registro civil de Filadelphia el 3 de Agosto 1997. Soy la hija de Leland Lott y Alison Sprague. Soy la hermana de Elliot y Jared. Mis deportes favoritos son voleibol y softbol. Me gusta hablar con mis amigos y jugar con mis gatos cuando yo era aburrida.
Hay muchas cosas que no vees de mi personalidad. Por ejemplo yo soy amable, siempre me gusta personas nuevas. Pero por el mismo si yo no mme gusta algo yo puedo ser muy antipatica. Valgo mucho mi familia y mis amigos especialmente Jasir, tambien la escuela. Algo que no puedes ver es que yo soy inteligente. En el futuro yo quiero ser una maestra. Tengo muhco cariño para los niños y quiero que ellos pueden aprender algo nuevo. Mis compañeros dicen que yo era muy autoritario y creo que es la verdad pero nunca me gusta decir eso a ellos. Me gusta hablar mucho, yo podia hablar por todo el dia. Un cosa mas que no puedes ver es que en lugares nuevos yo era muy nerviosa y no me gusta hacer coasas nuevas por este razon.

Mis profesores y yo nos llevamos bien. Con la Srta. Rami tengo una relación muy buena. Ella es muy tranquila y por eso yo creo que me gusta ella mucha. Con el Señor Reddy yo tengo un relación mas o menos. Por eso en el clase de el yo era muy tímido. El tiene un actitud pero yo creo que el me gusta me. Me gusta la clase de español con la señorita Manuel por que ella era muy simpatíca. Me aprecia mi advior Señor Block por que el era muy inteligente y si yo necesita ayuda el siempre me da. Mi novio, Todd, es la persona que tengo la mas confianza con.  El era simpatico y siempre era cariñoso con yo. Cuando era abogiada el siempre me hace tranquila.Tambien nunca somos nerviosos con el otro y podemos hablar de muchas cosas. Soy en enamorado con el y es uno de mis mejor amigos. Tengo un buen relacion con todos mis amigos tambien, todos mis amigos son muy apoyo de todo yo hace y por eso yo era muy apreciado.

Yo era una persona que es huraña cuando soy con personas nuevas por que soy nerviosa. Pero después de hablar con personas nuevas yo soy tan ruidosa. No soy antipática ni tranquila. Yo creo que yo soy muy inteligente. Yo no quiero crear que yo soy sensible pero soy muy sensible. Yo era talentosa en los deportes como voleibol y softbol. En mi casa yo vivo con mi mama, mi papa, y mi hermano menor. Pero también tengo un hermano mayor pero el no vive conmigo. Me discutír mucho con mis hermanos, pero me aprecia los dos. Tengo un buen relación con mis abuelos porque solo viven en Nueva Jersey. Me amo toda mi familia. Hay muchas cosas que no vees de yo. Por ejemplo yo soy amable, siempre me gusta personas nuevas. Valgo mucho mi familia y mis amigos especialmente Jasir, tambien la escuela. En el futuro yo quiero ser una maestra. Tengo muhco cariño para los niños y quiero que ellos pueden aprender algo nuevo. Mis compañeros dicen que yo era muy autoritario y creo que es la verdad pero nunca me gusta decir eso a ellos. Algo mas que no puedes ver es que yo siempre era pensando del futuro. Yo quiero tener una trabajo que puede cambiar una vida. La moneda no era la cosa mas importante de yo.

Mi máscara es de un zorro. Yo queria hacer un zorro por que eran muy rapido y yo creo que yo tambien era muy rapido. Tambien ellos eran animales que son muy feroz como yo pero en el mismo tiempo ellos tienen miedo de los otors animales tambien. Yo creo que eso es muy desciptivo de mi personalidad. En el mismo yo era un persona que habla mucho entonces ponia una boca mas grande. Tambien yo  creo que yo tengo un buen vee de el mundo entonces ponia ojos mas grande.


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Book Review

Interview with Ellis
Alex Marothy

Water

10-25-13


American Psycho


American Psycho is a black comedy, a violently powerful critique of upper-echelon male culture and a mirror for the worst in society. Set in the late 80’s of New York City, the story follows Patrick Bateman, the poster child of privilege with a demented twist. All he knows is the culture he was born into, one of wealth and entitlement, and passes blatant and unsolicited judgement on all others. While he is obsessed with his own appearance, so are his colleagues, such that unique identity is easily lost. 

Through Bateman’s eyes we observe the yuppie culture of the Wall Street businessman, and his growing feeling of alienation from a society of faceless masks. In an egotistical world where Platinum AmEx cards rule and money is a trivial commodity, all that sets the characters apart are their clothes. Throughout, the book stabs at societal ideals and the loss of compassion in a world driven by greed. How easily these characters lose even the last shred of their humanity strikes the core of America’s morality. 

Though satirical in its tone, the story is punctuated by violence, taking a new look at materialism through the eyes of a crazed psychopath. With each page, our sadistic anti-hero is closer to the brink of utter insanity, and composes himself only briefly with thoughts of shopping and returning his video tapes. He is the stereotype of affluence, a glamorous consumer, and has a carnal urge to own only the very best, allowing, even forcing his possessions to define him. Constantly offering advice to his colleagues, and even the reader (another hint at psychosis), about fashion and grooming, doing so as second nature, another piece of his effortless facade.

The book is written with distinct style, a rambling narrative that drags you down with it; a conscious choice that the author, Bret Easton Ellis, made with clear precision. Ellis, born in the early sixties, released the book when he was twenty-seven, startlingly close to the age of the main character. He was born into wealth, and, in the late eighties, was very much a member of the same materialistic culture of yuppie consumerism. At times, Bret has suggested his work to be autobiographical, his characters inspired by different stages of his own life. 

In this rambling tone, Bateman describes only the most mundane of tasks, but in ways that convey an inexplicable fascination he has with them. Things like his shower routine, the deeper messages of the album Abacab, and his aerobics class. The detail with which he describes these is so impeccably deranged, that reading it can give you chills. Yet, at the same time, his mentality rings true for the upper-class male culture of the late 80’s and early 90’s, and their obsessive narcissism. Men had recently been put under the same spotlight that women had been under for years, and they were expected to look good. This not only fueled their egotism, but created a society blinded by appearance, and so shallow in their morality. Throughout the novel, Ellis does a fantastic job of emphasizing this point and showing the readers just how far some men can take it. 

Throughout the novel, though Bateman’s extreme violence is quite prevalent, it goes seemingly unnoticed by his peers. Are they so blinded by their own egotistically introspective gaze they are simply oblivious to the bloodshed before them, or is Bateman so deranged, so unhinged, that his reality is shared by no one else? This question Ellis poses excellently, and is one of the great enigmas of the story.

If the events in the book really are just figments of the anti-hero’s disturbed mind, then the subtleties of the story are easily explained. Instances in which Bateman will say something horrific to another character, and they will take no notice, or how he can walk across town in a bloody raincoat with no one saying a word. These situations, these events, if taken as delusions of a troubled mind, become trivial. Suddenly, the novel becomes boring, and everything that Bateman does means nothing to the reader.

However, if he really is a murderous lunatic, a sickened psychopath, and a bloodthirsty savage, the story comes to life in a way we could never have imagined. We are now on Bateman’s side, in his subconscious, egging him on toward his imminent destruction. We laugh with him, not at him, and sneer at a despicably droll society full of sycophants and disingenuous sloths. 

Leo Levy: Debajo del Superficie.

​Mi nombre es Leo Alexander Kass Levy, un nombre judío, alemán y ecuatoriano. Nací en Filadelfia en el 13 de Marzo, en el año mil novecientos noventa y ocho, y he vivido en Filadelfia para toda mi vida. Mis padres son Juan Levy y Arden Kass. Mi padre es arquitecto Ecuatoriano, y mi madre es dramaturga. Soy conocido entre mis amigos como Leo. De hecho, soy conocido entre todos como Leo.

​Hay muchas facetas de mi personalidad. En el superficie, creo que mi personalidad es maduro, culto y seguro. Por otro lado, soy un poco egotista, comúnmente perezoso, y a veces grosero. Físicamente, me veo muy ario. Mi pelo es casi rubio, y mis ojos son azules. Soy alto, casi seis pies, y un poquito gordito. Necesito anteojos gruesos, porque aunque mis ojos son bonitos, ellos no funcionen. Ademas, aunque solo tengo quince años, parezco más viejo. Creo que es la culpa de mis gafas. Mis amigos dicen que con mis anteojos, me parezco un estudiante de filosofía, o un activista de derechos civiles. Hay otras caracteristicas que me caracterizan.

Las relaciones de una persona caracterizan esa persona mucho. En escuela, soy una persona seguro casi todo el tiempo, y por esto tengo éxito a menudo. A veces, sin embargo, estoy orgulloso y un poquito perezoso sobre mi tarea. Mis profesores me caen bien, con la excepción de un maestro, porque él me molesta un poco. Mis amigos y yo nos llevamos bien, y me dan risa todo el tiempo. Estoy contento en mis clases, y en mi escuela. Yo tengo un grupo de amigos con amigos viejos y amigos nuevos. En el grupo, hay personas hurañas, y personas más seguras. Hay personas tacañas y personas generosas. Todos somos interesantes. Nos llevamos bien. Dillon es muy generosa, pero yo soy un poco tacaño. Ava es huraña, pero Aaron es muy extrovertido. El grupo funciona porque todos somos únicos

Mi familia es muy única también. Mi padre nació en Quito, Ecuador, y mi madre nació en Nueva York, Nueva York. Mis padres me educan, y por esto tengo opiniones políticas como suyos. Somos muy liberales. Cada persona en mi familia tiene opiniones fuertes, y por esto argumentamos a menudo. Yo argumento con mi hermana. Mi hermana argumenta con mi padre. Mi padre argumenta con mi madre. Mi madre argumenta conmigo. Aunque nosotros argumentamos, tengo cariño para cada persona en mi familia.

Creo que tengo cariño y simpatía para todo el mundo. Creo que soy un hombre culto y maduro, pero es posible que esto es un poquito discutible. Es más realista que soy principalmente medio, con unos rasgos únicos. Soy creativo, y imaginativo, y dibujo todo el tiempo. Lo que necesito en mi vida es aventura y creatividad. Necesito dibujar. Necesito escribir. Necesito viajar. Soy un poco demasiado cínico, pero mis amigos me toleran. Mi cinismo es una reacción a el mundo yo veo. Hay mucho dolor y infelicidad en el mundo, y yo hago frente a la infelicidad con sarcasmo. A pesar de mi sarcasmo, soy una persona esperanzado. Desde mi perspectiva, humanidad es demasiado milagroso y eso planeta es demasiado milagroso para derrochar nuestra tiempo en el mundo argumentando. Por esto, soy pacifista, y ecologista. Soy judío, pero no soy ortodoxo. En los domingos, voy al sinagoga. Sin embargo, estoy indeciso sobre la religión. Yo no no se si creo en dios; soy agnóstico. Lo que me gusta es la comunidad de judaísmo. Me gusta la filosofía también.

Mi máscara es la cara de un hombre viejo. Yo elegí esto porque debajo del superficie, soy como un hombre viejo. Soy cínico y filosófico. Me gusta beber té y leer. Soy perezoso. Llevo anteojos y suéteres. Me gusta sofás. Soy un hombre joven, pero también soy un hombre viejo.

E4 U1 La vida de Antonio

Inscrito en el registro civil de Filadelfia el 19 de Octubre de 1995. No se sobre el origen de mi nombre. Yo soy un hijo de Miguel y Karen y también un hermano de Miguel. Mi madre trabaja a la oficina y mi padre trabaja a la Centro de Convenciones de Filadelfia. Mi hermano va a colegio y un programa de autismo porque tiene autismo. Me gusta dormir 10 - 12 horas una noche de verano, jugar béisbol con mis amigos y comer unos platos de comida.

Yo soy blanco. Todos las personas dicen yo soy blanco. Unas personas dicen yo soy italiano. Es falso esta yo soy italiano, pero es cierto yo soy blanco. Yo soy simpático y poco gracioso.  Yo soy inteligente cuando necesito ser y eso es en la clases de SLA. Yo soy no inteligente a unos momentos malos. Esta es por qué mis amigos no ven mis inteligentes. Me molesta jugar y hablar sobre los videojuegos con mis amigos. Allí son videojuegos por ejemplo “Grand Theft Auto 5” y hablamos sobre porqué el videojuego es incredible.

En cuanto mis relaciones académicas, mis profesores y yo nos llevamos bien. Me da miedo el Señor Reddy porque soy muy sensible y autoritario con trabajo de mi y ellos. Muchos estudiantes pueden decir Señor Reddy es sensible con nuestras trabajo. No está solamente yo dijo Señor Reddy es sensible.  Sin embargo, el Señor Reddy me cae bien. Escuchan. Cuando usted no la maestra, usted es simpático. No creo yo hablo simpático sobre Señor Reddy, pero usted es simpático y entiende problemas si tu tienes. La Srta. Manuel me cae bien. Me entiende cuando tengo problemas y cuando necesito su ayuda. También, usted es muy simpática y graciosa cuando usted aprende la clase de Español 4.Un de mi profesores, Señor Latimer, me entiende mejor. Cuando tengo problemas académicos de Calculus (matemáticas), sé que puedo hablar con usted o usted puede hablar con me. Señor Latimer da consejos en que hacer en matemáticas eso yo puedo entender matemáticas más. Por eso, la respeto mucho y nos llevamos muy bien.

Yo soy poco gracioso porque yo hago los bramos malos y yo hago los bramos malos at los momentos malos. Eso porque mis amigos creen yo soy no gracioso mucho. Yo dijo… es cierto. Yo soy hispano. Mis amigos dicen yo soy blanco. Sí, yo soy blanco, también. Ellos no ven eso yo soy hispano. Yo soy blanco mucho.  Me cae bien más personas pero unas personas no caen. Yo no dijo nombres. Yo no soy reservado. Me gusta mi hermano. Sin embargo, mi hermano tiene "autismo." Es muy mal, yo se. Por un lado, me gusta mi hermano. El es alguien puedo hablar con. Por otro lado, mi hermano educa muchas preguntas sobre Mario (el juego), Superman y "The Three Stooges." Sin duda, ellos buenos, pero es molesto cuando él pregunta sobre ellos. Yo soy artístico. Ellos no ven mi trabajar de arte porque yo no quiero mi trabajar de arte. Mi trabajar de arte yo creo es más o menos. Es no “Picaso” o “Da Vinci”. Sin embargo, yo creo mi trabajar de arte es bueno ahora. Puedo decir, yo hice más trabajar con el arte. Voy a mostrar mi trabajar de arte con esta proyecto. Voy a sorprender.

Yo soy Antonio Reveron. Un hombre quien es creativo, artistico, inteligente y poco gracioso. Un hombre de hispano… y blanco. Mi máscara es de demonio porque yo juego nombre de “Skyrim”. Me gusta videojuegos y yo creo me gusta hacer algo me gusta. Los demonios son nombres de “Daedra”. Daedras son interesante. Porque voy a hacer un demonio de Daedra de Skyrim. Chao!


La Máscara de Micah

Mi profesores y yo llevamos bien porque yo soy un estudiante bueno. No me da miedo el Señor Reddy porque él es tacaño con los grados y es autoritario, pero no es antipático. Sin embargo, me da miedo Señor VK. Señor VK es inteligente, pero él es un poco loco. Quiere ser simpático y cuidado, pero a veces no es muy sensible o sensato. Él es amable y nosotros lo pasamos bien clases, pero... me da miedo Señor VK.

Me da riza el Señor Baird porque no es serio en la clase. Me molesta el libro "The Things They Carried". El libro dice nada, y dice nada importante. Nosotros leemos el libro en la clase Inglés. Yo estoy agobiado en la clase de Español , pero Señorita Manuel es muy simpática. A veces me da riza la Señorita Echols porque ella quiso ir gracioso. Pero ella es muy ruidoso y muy serio con la clase. Es muy bueno por la clase. Ellas es un buen profesora y nosotros escuchan a que ella dice. Sin embargo ella es demasiado simpática ir gracioso. Y ella no es sarcástico, pero la situación es muy irónico.


También yo tengo mis amigos. A veces yo estoy agobiado porque tarea o proyectos o clases. No es importante, porque ellos son muy simpática y gracioso. Ellos no son tranquilo tradicional, pero, con tiempo, yo no estoy agobiado.

Yo soy sarcástico y inteligente, también yo soy amable y simpática. Mis compañeros dicen yo soy sensata, pero yo no sensata. Yo tengo mala memoria para tarea y a veces no soy cuidadoso.  En el futuro, quisiera ir a colegio bien y ir la países diferentes y leer tres libros bien en un día. A veces me molesta mucho tarea, pero yo sabe yo necesito tarea. Sueño con dormir para tres semanas, o tener un hipopótamo.

Me molesta tiempo. Tiempo es demasiado rápido! También me gusta discutir. Cuando personas son mentirosos o disimulan la verdad, yo estoy feliz. Al contrario, me gusta disimular la verdad. Valgo mucho la información y la presentación de información. Me gusta la clase historia más que me gusta la clase inglés porque en inglés nosotros escribimos a escribir. En la clase de historia nosotros escribimos porque nosotros decimos información.


También me gusta información falso. Por un lado me gusta leer literatura fantástica. A veces yo busca la Internet para citas de libros o comícos. Por otro lado me gusta jugar muchos juegos, video juegos, Dungeons & Dragons, y otro juegos fantásticas.


De vez en cuando yo estoy agobiado, porque… yo no se. Yo estoy cansado, yo tengo demasiado tarea, yo no se. Y a veces yo estoy muy cansado, por muchas dia. Al contrario a menudo yo estoy muy bueno, y todo es facil. Yo hago mi tarea muy rápido y yo escucho en mi clases.


Me nombre es Micah Getz. Me máscara es de la iguana porque a veces yo estoy agobiado y yo tengo ojos más grandes. Por un lado la iguana ve en muchas direcciones en un momento que es agobiado pero la iguana es tranquil. También me gusta el color verde. Por el otro lado yo quiero una mascara que es no mas espantar a los otros.


Q1BM. Book Review – Artemis Fowl [ & series]

   Book Review – Artemis Fowl (series)

KaBoni Bailey

Author: Eion Colfier



            There so often comes a book series that you can glue your eyes to and read over and over again. In my experience of the many books I’ve read, the Artemis Fowl books are definitely on my top ten lists of best book series. Given the witty banter, high intelligence and focus that this book emits; it’s simple to say, ‘give it a read’. Weather it’s from the point of Artemis’s Butler, who happens to be one of the worlds most dangerous bodyguards, or from Captain Holly Short’s (A fairy who trifles with Artemis and his schemes) point of view, you will always get a great third-person understanding of the story. As well, Eion Colfier’s style changes depending on the main character of the chapter/section; when using Butler as his center piece, he tends to be more aggressive and specified on action, when on the other hand, writing about Artemis’ situations seems to be more theological and intrusive to the mind. It leaves you questioning his intentions and wanting to read to the next page.

 Adults will even fall captive to the fictional inclusion of Fairies and their battle to remain hidden from the Mud Men (Humans). Taking it from there, the story all begins when a teenage kid decides to kidnap a fairy for buttloads of gold in order to fund an expedition to find his father, who has been missing for several years. Some would compare this book to The arm, the eye and the ear by (Search author), or The amulet of Samarkand by (Search book/author [Nathaniel]); both of these books presents a writing style not generally known and/or understood by people who read regular book after regular book.

D’arvit!, a expression that the fairies use to designate a censored cuss word. Eion Colfier uses this word perfectly, as no one knows what it means in mud men language, yet we, the readers, know that it is bad enough word to not be deciphered by the readers. Showing up more than several times in Artemis Fowl, in stressful situations, this word is one that is used precise enough to give the hint, something big is going on, or is about to happen.

It may seem as though this book is prefect and would eliminate every other book made, but like all books, there are some flaws. Because these books are so intellectually simple yet complex, there may be the need to re-read pages, even chapters to understand a specific action and/or concept in the book. When I first read the books, multiple times I had to go back and re-read up to two chapters of what I previously read to understand the parts of the climax. Along with that, small details that most wouldn’t pay attention to are very important for a majority of the books. Seeing as though Artemis is a mentalist and likes to toy with his unknown subjects, it is somewhat understandable that his books makes the reader go deeper into their frontal lobe for comprehension, but sometimes, if not most times it is unnecessary to confuse your reader to the point of frustration (I’ve been their before).

As you can tell, these books have their ups and downs, more ups than downs but some downs non-the less. Which is expected of any author, for an author with no errors isn’t an author at all.

Eion Colfier, the author of the bestselling Artemis Fowl series published book number one on April first, 2003; which slowly but surely became his best seller. This 316 page paperback anthology is still, in 2013, a force to be reckoned with. Considering the mix of genre’s that reside in the book, ranging from Sci-fi to young adult to fantasy, Artemis fowl has many features that leave it impeccable to the publication world and young minds alike. Yet, as well with anything else in this world, it’s not a perfect piece of writing, but everything that you expect in a good book is present in Artemis fowl; cleverness, strategy, action and great emotion. Whatever flaws may be present in this book, it still does not affect the overall theme of the book and objective: to give the reader a good read.

 

            

La Mascara de Identidad.





Soledad Asialinda Isabela Elias Alfaro-Allah: Hogar de naces Santiago Chile el 3 de marzo 1998. Estudiante en el Science Leadership Academy.  Peso al nacer 3 libras 4 onzas. Hija de Soledad y Understanding. Familiares importantes; Abuela materna, simpática. Abuelo, Muerto. Sus amigas la conocen como Soli y sus padres la loca. 

Cuando describo a mi mismo pienso que tengo varias característicass. Por ejemplo soy muy llamativa. Personas  saben quien soy porque hablo mucho y tengo una presencia muy grande. También soy muy graciosa con mis amigos, pero si no te conozco no digo mucho. Cuando conozco a extranjero soy un poco huraña porque no quiero ser alguien fastidioso. Me encanta a mi escuela. Me cae bien con casi todos mis profesores y el señor Kay y la Senorita Manuel me da risa. No me llevo mal con ninguno de mis profesores pero megusta a unos más que otros. Personas que me inspira son personas que han tenido un impacto muy grande en el mundo o algo mas pequeño como un genero de musica o arte. 

Alguien que me inspira mucho es la artista Mexicana Frida Kahlo. Su arte es muy extrañoo y llamativa. Ella tambien es muy fuerte por que estaba en una accidente de tráfico cuando estaba montado en una tranvia. Ella me inspira porque tenía mucho para superar. Como su cuerpo y su estate. Ella casi siempre estaba en cama por que no podia caminar. Alguien que me da risa son mis amigos Nashay y Stephanie. Ellos son muy graciosos y siempre estan haciendo algo chistoso. Algo que me entiendo es el escritura. Es muy fácil decir lo que siento con la escritura. 

Mi amiga mejor Stephanie es mi soporta lógica. No es nada de huraña. Ella es una persona bien extrovertida. Ella es muy simpática pero siempre esta haciendo correcciones a los demás por su vocabulario malo.  Los dos somos de acuerdo con casi todo de lo que hablamos, y ella siempre entiende lo que estoy tratando de decir aunque unas veces lo que estoy diciendo no tiene razón. Ella es muy bonita y inteligente. Es bien corta y encanta escribir ensayos analíticos. Los dos tenemos el mismo ILP y siempre estamos trabajando juntos para sacar los aspectos factuales y creativas de los artículos que escribimos. Ahora estamos escribiendo sobre la diferencia en el 98% y el 1% en los estados unidos. 98% significa la mayoría de la población económica y el 1%, el populacion rica. El articulo se llama “Rebuilding America”. Me encanta hablar con ella sobre cualquier cosa. Ella me entiende muchísima y siempre esta allí para consolarme. Ella no es solo una amiga pero casi mi hermana porque siempre la ama sin duda. Ella es el mejor amiga en el mundo. 

Mis compañeros dicen que soy muy creativa. Que yo puedo hacer a gente sentir  mucho con solo mis palabras y me da mucho risa de saber que ellos se sienten así. Pero tengo miedo del futuro, porque no se si tengo las cosas necesarias para tener éxito en la vida. Mis padres siempre me dicen que uno tiene que tener un trabajo que puede tener bastante dinero para que no tengo que preocupar para nada. Pero tengo miedo de no gustar lo que hago y va a ser aburrido o al contrario de los morales que tengo. Veo a mi madre cuando ella está frustrada con su jefe por que ella es tonta y antipatica. Nunca hace nada y mi madre tiene que hacer su trabajo. Entonces no quiero vivir asi. 

Soy muy extraña. En maneras muy diferentes. Valgo mucho la poesía de todas maneras. Formal y informal me encanta. Me gusta pensar que soy muy creativa en muchas maneras diferentes. Me gusta pintar y escribir y a veces dibujar.También  valgo mucho las cosas creativas porque alguien creo algo con su imaginación y para decir lo exagerado lo hicieron con su sangre, sudo y lágrmias. Y yo se como me siento despues de crear algo con todas de estas cosas.  La identidad es algo muy extraño y yo estoy tratando de descubrir la mia todavia. 

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