Blog for Week 11/30/15-Nonfiction Blog

It Happened to Nancy By: An Anonymous Teenager  Edited By:Beatrice Sparks

Page 0-179

         
             Nancy, fourteen, just found out she has HIV because of her so called boyfriend, Collin. Collin was a college student who became friends with Nancy. Nancy had no clue this would happen to her because of the things Collin would say to her, until he suddenly raped her and he never talked to her again. After a couple of years HIV turns into AIDS but the virus in Nancy isn't taking too long. It Happened To Nancy is a diary that Nancy writes before and during her life with HIV. It walks you through all her painful moments and her most happiest moments.

              One of Nancy's painful moments were "I should have known it was too good to last. Kids are mean and cruel and sadistic and evil and twisted. It was like the most nightmarish of all nightmares. I was just walking down the hall, minding my own business, when the twin, Mick and Mack, and Gregg, and when they saw me they started forcing him in my direction, giggling. "Give him a deep French kiss, Nancy. Give him a deep, wiggling French kiss"-they broke up with laughter-"and your special something as well." They were pressing him against my body, which was against the locker, and his forehead banged mine. I tried to yell "Ouch," "HELP," but nothing cam out. Other kids were walking down the hall, but it seemed hours before they pulled the three creatures from Hell off me."(page 157) This passage was interesting to me because I never thought that kids would do bullying to another kid who had HIV. I always thought that kids would respectful of the person who has this illness not make fun of them.

              One thing that I have learned from this book that I most likely not to forget in the future is that HIV can lead up to the other illness too. I learned this because Nancy get sick many times in this book, with illnesses that don't even seem related in anyway with HIV or AIDS.  I knew that HIV weakened the immune system but I never knew that you get could other sicknesses because of it. I have seen articles on the internet with titles on how to live a healthy life with HIV. So, I never thought you could get sick.

Blog for Week 11/09/15- School's Out-Forever By James Patterson

     In the book School's Out-Forever by James Patterson, a big theme is family.  Family is a big theme in the book because it is supported by the conflict, the plot events, and the character's actions. This book is the second book in the sequel, Maximum Ride, which is also by James Patterson. In this book it just follows the lives of Max, Iggy, Fang, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel after they have discovered who they really are and who their parents are. All they ever knew in the world was just each other, so being together was really important. Especially when Erasers are chasing them around the country all the time, they are more powerful together than separate. The School is always sending out Erasers to capture them and bring them back. 

    

     Another reason why family is a big theme in this book is because of the plot events. When Iggy gets injured by an Eraser they need help from the outside world, so they take him to a hospital. Having 6 kids in the hospital by themselves is a little shady, the FBI shows up and decides to give the flock a home with an agent. They were originally suppose to leave Iggy in the hospital until he got better but everyone refused and stayed with him. They all knew what could have happened to him if he was alone the whole night, but stayed because there was no point in losing one of them. 

     The final reason why family is a big theme in this book is the character's actions. Max is the most who does most of the action in the book. When Max realizes that she is changing she tells Fang what is happening to her and gives him orders on what to do. She says "I took a deep breath. "If I turn into an Eraser," I said more strongly, "will you deal with it? To protect the others?"...If I turned into an Eraser, it would be his job to kill me." She told Fang because she knew he would understand and do what's right, no matter if it meant to kill Max. Max's actions aren't the only ones that support the theme of family, but she is the one that does more actions out of the rest of the flock, which indicate family.

Commented on Sumar's Blog, Amelia's Blog, and Hazelle's Blog.

First Quarter Reflection

    I have learned about the world so much this quarter, more than in the past years. I have learned about Mount McKinley being renamed, President Obama wanting to enforce more gun laws, Syrian refugees, people making fake online identities, and the weather on Mars. This has benefited me because now I actually know what is happening in other parts of the world. It's important for me to know what is happening around the world because I might be able to help someone in need in another country.

    Some strategies that I have benefited from are annotating and writing objective summaries. These strategies have helped me be able to understand different pieces of writing. Annotating for some reason has made reading articles and book more fun for me, because it lets me asks questions and write down different ideas. Writing objective summaries has become helpful for me because I know that in the future I am going to need to write summaries and instead of writing a paragraph, I can just write around 3 sentences.

    My research skills have improved because now I can cite a website properly and find key ideas in the writing. With the help of one website I can cite websites properly and now my work looks more professional than before. Now I don't have to keep rambling about one little detail in the article, I can find the main ideas and jot them down. These research skills will come very helpful in the future.

Blog for Week 10/26/15-Maximum Ride By James Patterson

Prompt:How does the conflict drive the character development ?

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Page 169-420 (finished)

     In Maximum Ride, Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel find themselves traveling across the country just to find out where the School (lab that made them mutant) is. Everywhere they go Erasers find them and are always getting one of them hurt. Towards the end the pack is in New York and find information that they have always wanted to know about .

     The conflict in Maximum Ride is that Max and the rest of her friends are trying find the School that might have information on where they came from. Max, the main character, changes because towards the end she gets really mad at Ari, like she has never been before. After this she goes back to her normal self. Also the thing that I think that changed her the most was a little voice she had in her head that kept getting her annoyed and then mad.

     Another character that I think conflict has changed the most is Angel. I think that Angel has changed a lot because when the Erasers strike again she finds out that she has new ability. Her ability is that when she gets really mad or she wants something really bad, she can control the other person's mind and make them do what she wants them to do. In some ways she matures more but in other ways she stays the same old 6 year old. The conflict give her more responsibility which makes her seem more responsible because of the way she handles it. Even though now she gets more responsibilities she is still a little girl who Max always sends to go somewhat far away from the fighting scenes.

Narrative Twist

“The Lover Who Dared”

By:Brimady Ramirez-Garcia

In an olden era there was a semi-barbaric king who was so powerful. This king had a daughter, that no one ever dared to love because of her father. Until one day a young man from the king’s workers rose to the challenge.The princess loved him and he loved her. She admired him because of his handsomeness and bravery. All of her inherited barbarism seemed sweet now. Their relationship continued on for many months without the king finding out.

Until one day, the king found out about their romance. Immediately the king sends the princess’s lover into jail and makes a date for when his trial in the arena will be held. The king sent out for the most beastly tiger and the most beautiful lady in the land. The days kept on passing and everyone second of the day and night, the princess thought of which door she was going to point her lover to.

Before the trial the princess did something that was forbidden in the arena. She found out in which door the lady was in and in which door the tiger was in. When she found out who the lady was, so much animosity began running through her. This lady was the most dainty and charming out all of the ladies. She hated her so much but not because of her looks but because she has seen her talk to her lover and admire him.

Due to these looks and talks between the lady behind the door and the princess’s lover, the princess had to rethink over her decision on which door to send her boyfriend to. Even though she didn’t have much time to think she had a final choice.  

The princess’s lover walked into the arena tall, handsome, and fair. When you were in the arena the tradition was to bow to the king but he didn’t do that. He just stood there having his eyes meet the princess’s.  All eyes were on him and yet he still asked the princess to which door he should go. No one heard or saw only her.

The princess thought to herself,

“I love him but it’s for his own good. I will regret this but atleast it’s better than seeing him die in front of me.”

The princess moved her hand to door on the right.  She saw him moving slowly with his hand out in front of him, ready to open the door.

While walking the princess’s lover whispers to himself

“I don’t know if I should put my fate in her hands. What if she thinks that my heart belongs to someone else, besides her. Trust is what our relationship is based on.”

He touches the door with his fingertips and yells

“I do trust her!”

To his surprise he opens the door with the lady. While hugging the lady behind the door he glances at the princess giving her a small smile.

The princess is smiling and pretending to be happy on the outside but on the inside she is furious. She leans over to her father and whispers in his ear

“Am I allowed to release the tiger?”

The king gives her a small smirk and nods his head. The princess has a plan. She didn’t want her lover to know that she was the one who let the tiger out. The princess calls over one of the guards and tell him her plan. He looks at the king for confirmation then walks away. In just a few seconds the guard released the tiger, making it seem like it was all an accident. The princess looked away but she knew what was happening.

The tiger was eating off limbs and chasing the lady. Blood was splashing everywhere. At the end there was nothing left of them, unfortunately since the priest was in the arena at the time he and his colleagues had to go too. The audience just saw globs of blood dripping out of the tiger’s teeth.

After the bloody surprise everyone left, and the king and princess just went back to their castle. For the rest of the princess’s life she always acted normal around guests, but when she went back to her room she would pretend to talk to her lover. Eventually the princess became insane because she thought her lover was still alive.The king had to make a hard choice but he eventually thought that it would be better for her to be locked up in the dungeon.

Commented on: Max's Blog, Andrea's Blog, and

Blog for Week 10/12/15- Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Prompt: Describe your least favorite character and explain why. Describe your most favorite character and why.
Maximum Ride by James Patterson
Page 1-169

       I am currently reading Maximum Ride, it talks about Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel who ran away from a lab that turned them special. When the Erasers take one of them back to lab they have to go on a difficult journey to save her. This journey consist of fights, bruises, and new encounters. 

       My least favorite character in Maximum Ride is Nudge. She is my least favorite character because when it comes to her finding her family she would do anything even go on a different path that could eventually get them killed. She sort of becomes a whole different person in one part of the book and at the end they have to fight for their life. She is determined to find her family and get answers of why she was left in the lab. I'm not saying that being determined is bad but you wouldn't just go off course to find people, that might even not be your family, when a girl, you think of as a sister, was just kidnapped and you have to go find her. Also I wouldn't say I dislike her a lot of but she is the one that I like the least.

       My favorite character from Maximum Ride is Angel. I like Angel the most because she has the best power out of all six of them. Angel can read minds, she is the only one with a power except for flying. I think this power is really cool because she always knows what you are thinking and it sort of comes in handy for her when problems occur. I don't know why but she reminds me of a little doll, just because she is really nice, with the people who care for her, and even though she got kidnapped she wasn't mean to the kidnappers but she wasn't super nice. It's also probably because she is the youngest out of the group and they sort of treat her like she is a baby.

I commented on Andrea's Blog, Hazelle's Blog, and Kezia's Blog

Banned Book Vlog

And Tango Makes Three

By: Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Commented on: Amelia's Blog, Anthony B's Blog, Andrea's Blog, Citlalli's Blog, and Andrew's Blog

Sources:

"Banned Books Week: And Tango Makes Three." Banned Books Awareness. World.edu, 13 Feb.              2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. <http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/02/13/banned-book- awareness-            tango-justin-richardson/>.

"Frequently Challenged Books." American Library Association. American Library Association,                2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2015. <http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks>.

Machlin, Sherri. "Banned Books Week: And Tango Makes Three." New York Public Library. The           New York Public Library, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nypl.org/blog/ 

      2013/09/23/banned-books-week-and-tango-makes-three>.

Top Ten Books

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
 
    The Hunger Games Trilogy was one of my favorite dystopian series to read. It was interesting to see a way Suzanne Collins might see the future. It was very nice to see the love Katniss had for her younger sister. Also when I read the books, it seemed like I was in the battle fighting as Katniss.

2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

    Love has many definitions, every person thinks of it differently. In my opinion I think that this book is the meaning of love. This book has taught me so much, not just about love but also about life. This book takes you through the difficult journey of Augustus and Hazel. Not just the part of their life that they were together but also the other part where they had to face these illnesses they had.

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

    Tris Prior was a unique character, not just in the way she acted but also in the way she thought. She was different from the rest of the other people in the different factions. Since she thought differently than everyone else certain people started targeting her. When they started targeting Tris, her life became more interesting.

4. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

     Cia Vale is a teenage girl who is chosen to join the the Testing. The Testing is a series of tests where the University is trying to find future world leaders in the younger generation. Cia's father was in the Testing and he warns her telling her that the Testing isn't all it seems.


5. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

    A Tale of Two Cities was a little bit challenging to read because Charles Dickens liked to use a lot of different vocabulary that I'm not used to. Besides the different vocabulary it was very interesting to see the different lives of Doctor Manette, Charles Danay, and Sydney Carton. What made it really interesting to read about their lives were their love for Lucie Manette.

6. The Martian by Andy Weir
 
    In The Martian Mark Watney is one of the first people to ever step foot on Mars. When a dust storm hits Mars and knocks him out, his crew has to evacuate thinking he is dead. When he wakes up he has no way to contact Earth and has a limited amount of supplies. Knowing that he will die before someone comes to rescue him he tries to make the time he has left the best. I really liked this book because it proves that you can do the impossible if you just put your mind to it.

7. Paper Towns by John Green

    Paper Towns is about a teenage boy named Quentin who loves Margo but from afar. Quentin has never really talked to Margo ever since they were kids until one night. That night Margo took Quentin on the best journey of his life, until she disappeared. This book was nice except I thought that the ending could have been better.

8. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
 
    This book was one of all time favorites when I was 2nd grade. I first watched the movies and got hooked so I decided to read the books.  Since my favorite genre is fantasy this book was just perfect. It talks about Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy's journeys in Narnia.


9. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

    I read Island of the Blue Dolphins in 5th grade and I thought it was pretty nice. Since it was based on a real person it was nice to see how someone could live so long on an island with absolutely nothing.

10. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson

      In Bridge to Terabithia Leslie Burke crosses on to the side of the boys at school, which no one has ever done. At first Jess Aarons didn't like her for what she did but at the end they became inseparable. One message that I got off this book was that girls can do anything even the impossible or never done.
 
I commented on Nathan's blog, Andrea's blog, and Citlalli's blog.

All About Me

     Hi, my name is Brimady and I am in 7th grade. I live with my mom, my dad, and my older brother. I don’t have any pets but my brother and I rescued a dog from the streets and found her a home.
   
     I love to watch Doctor Who, it is my favorite thing to do. Other shows I like to watch are Supernatural and Sherlock. Another thing I like to do is play sports. I do track, cheerleading, basketball, and volleyball. My favorite food is ceviche with octopus. Ceviche is just like shrimp cocktail but it has more liquid in it. This is all about me.