Never Cry Wolf

1. Never Cry Wolf
2. Farley Mowat
3. I am 3/4 of the way through the book.
4. Well he just learned about Uncle Albert. Now he is trying to find out where the wolves have been eating because none of them have brought any meat home to eat. He soon watches the mother wolf go to the stream and try to hunt ducks. She almost killed the duck but her leap was just a little to short. Then he noticed the wolves going to the field. He realized they were eating the mice from the field and that is how they have been surviving all this time.
5. It is a decent book but I would rather read a fiction book.
6. He wrote this book to talk about his findings about wolves.
7. The theme is about wolves.
8. I like the mother wolf right now because she is very smart in who she hunts.
9. "She started to act like a puppy" this is when the mother wolf was trying to attract the ducks.
10. Not really right now.

By, Adam Nelson-Ockenfels

Never Cry Wolf

1. Never Cry Wolf
2. Farley Mowat
3. I am about half way thorough the book.
4. Well he has finally established contact with the wolves and he is very surprised. He made his tent right next to one of their main hunting trails and the wolves do not seem to notice. He has also had an interesting expirence with the wolf pups. While he was getting close to the den and watching the pups the parent wolves came back. They were not happy to see him close so they almost attacked him. Now he has just started to watch the movement of a more secret wolf called Uncle Albert. It seems that Uncle Albert is like a nanny for the wolves for when the mother is gone.
5. I think that it is a decent book but I like fiction books more.
6. This author wrote this book to tell about his expirence in the wild with wolves.
7. I think that the author wanted us to know more information about the wolves.
8. I like Uncle Albert the wolf because he is very playful.
9. "He did his job on one tank." This is when the wolf was marking his territory after the man had marked it already.
10. Are there other wolf packs around?

By, Adam Nelson-Ockenfels

3rd blog 4th quarter

I have recently finished Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. So in the book basically what happens is that the rebels gradually take over the districts. After that the rebels overrun the capital. Lots of people die in the process and Katniss shoots the rebel leader Coin for dropping parachute bombs over children, her sister, just to end the war faster. But she is not thrown in jail but gets to return home to district twelve where she lives happily ever after with Peeta. I think the book was great but very depressing because so many people die. I think the main reason why the author wrote this is to show that not everything ends up perfectly,like many books and movies say. If you need something big to happen there needs to be sacrifice. The theme is definetly action. I think the author wanted us to think about how soilders can be changed by a war or killing thing. She did a great job of showing post-dramatic stress syndrome on all characters that contributed in the Hunger Games especially Katniss. So I just thimk she wanted us to see it from the soilders perspective. I think the best character is Finnick. Finnick stays the same the whole book but he dies by getting his head chopped off by a mutant lizard. My by far favvorite quote from the book is when President Snow is talking to Katniss about the parachute bombs that killed her sister. Katniss immediatly blames Snow but Snow says it was really your own leader, Coin, who bombed them to end the war faster. Katniss basically says no it was you when Snow quotes "Katniss I thought we agreed not to lie to each other." This basically convinces Katniss that Coin killed her sister. I just wonder how gale is doing with his new job in district 3 and what he is in charge of?

Kon-Tiki Across the Pacific by raft is what I am currently reading. It is by Thor Heyerdahl. So I have finished this book and what It is basically about is that Thor wanted to test the theory of that pre-Inca Peruvians settled in the Polynesian Islands. To test this Thor and six other sailors sailed traveled, by raft, from South America to Polynesia. So this book is basically about his travels and arrivals. I think the book was ok it sure added extra suspense when exciting moments would happen because it really did happen in real life, it's not fiction. I think the author wrote this to share his experiences and obviously to help prove his theory of pre-Inca Peruvians that inhabited Polynesia. I think the theme is action because some exciting real-life moments occure. I think the best charactor is Thor and he has only changed in that i think he is more thankful for the life he has. My question for the book is I really wonder if some of these events where dramtically altered to make the book more exciting?

3. Sherlock Holmes

     The book I am currently reading is A Treasury of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  So I've made it to the first chapter of part two and I've been enjoying this book.  It is told from the point of view of Dr. John Watson and tells of his adventures after meeting Sherlock Holmes.  After serving as a doctor in the Afghan war, Watson has come to London in search of a new place to live. An old friend knows of a man looking to share boarding with another and John eagerly goes to meet him.  This man is, of course, no other then Sherlock Holmes.  They agree to share a place and begin their friendship.  John finds out a bit of what Sherlock does as they begin to help solve a murder case that the police asked Sherlock to help with.                                                                                                                      
     One of  my favorite parts so far is where Watson is trying to learn more about Sherlock and finds he knows next to nothing about the Solar System and after John informs him about it he imidiatly tries to forget it.  Holmes states, "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose."  I think that a theme of this book is the importance of inteligence and the ability to apply it.  I think the author must have been quite the guy due to his ability to produce a charater and story like this.  He probably wrote the book because it was his passion and he was good at it.  Maybe he was like Sherlock and wanted to share all the inventive methods and ideas he had with people like Sherlock does with John.
     I do have a couple of questions so far.  I really would like to know Sherlock's background.  For example;what was his childhood like or why he is the way he is.  He is definately an interesting character and one of my favorites due to the conflict he has between scentific method and normal human interaction.  I am excited to see how the story will turn out! 

3) Stefan's Diaries

     I am reading the book Stefan's Diaries by L.J Smith. This book is kind of a spin-off from the Vampire Diaries series which I have already read. I am about 1/4 of the way through the book. The book is about a boy named Stefan Salvatore who is engaged to marry a girl named Rosalyn who he does not love. While with Rosalyn, an orphaned girl named Katherine moves into their house. He falls for Katherine and finds out her big secret...she's a vampire. Katherine ends up killing Rosalyn on her and Stefan's wedding night without Stefan knowing. With Rosalyn dead he can be with Katherine, but Katherine also likes Stefan's brother Damon. So now Stefan and Damon are fighting over Katherine.
    I really like this book! I mean I know how it turns out because I've read the Vampire Diaries, but I am learning stuff about Stefan and Damon that I didn't know before. I also like how the book takes place in 1864 Italy. It was so old fashioned back in those times and it's interesting to see how people were back then. I think the author wrote this to explain Stefan and Damon's past and to also explain why they end up hating each other. The book was written to help people understand the main series, Vampire Diarie's. The theme of the book would have to be Jealousy. Stefan loves Katherine, but so does Damon.
    The author definetly wants to make us think about the importance of family. Stefan ends up hating Damon and vice versa. They end up going their seperate ways and even trying to kill each other. Sorry this is really hard to explain because I know whats going to happen from reading the Vampire Diarie's, but you wouldn't know this much information just from the book...so I'm doing the best I can. My favorite character would have to be Damon. He is the family outcast. His father likes Stefan better so he is really mean to Damon. I like Damon because he is really mysterious and also very funny. He hasn't really changed much yet in the book.
    "We will come up with a plan. And we will prevail. Beause while they may have immortality, we have god on our side. It is kill or be killed." This is Stefans father talking to him about the killing that have been going on around town. Being it 1864, the town is very superstious and most believe in ghosts and vampires and etc. So Stefan's father is talking to him about defeating the evil. This is important because the evil he is fighting is really Katherine.
    Some questions I have is, how does Damon fall in love with Katherine? Will anybody else find out about Katherine being a vampire? How did Katherine get turned into a vampire? That is pretty much all the questions I have.

3. Montana 1948

        I am reading Montana 1948 by Larry Watson. I am now finished with the book. Basically what happens is after they find Marie dead, David tells his parents a serious secret. David knows information about the death of Marie involving Uncle Frank. David tells his parents that he saw Uncle Frank enter their house through the back door just hours before Marie is found dead. David's father is torn between his job and his family. Being a cop, he should turn Frank in, but Frank being his brother-in-law complicates things. David's dad kind of drags on for a while wondering what to do. Eventually he brings Frank to his house for a meeting. To save Frank from embarrassment, David's dad locks him in a room in their basement. This is simulating jail. David's entire family is paranoid about having a criminal living in their basement so  David' s dad decides that he will turn Frank in and have him go to public jail. But the night before, David and his father are woken by the slamming of glass jars coming from Frank's room. David's father goes down to see what is wrong. He finds Uncle Frank dead on the floor with flood spilling out of him. Frank committed suicide.
        I thought this was a very intriguing book. It was interesting and had many unexpected twists. I believe this is why I liked it.  This book really kept my attention and it kind of opened my eyes to some racism that takes place.
        I believe that the author wrote this to expose some of the disturbing truth about rape and racism. It is something that needs to be told and I found really interesting. His motivation probably had something to do with a past experience and he wanted to show that this really can happen.
        I believe that the theme of this book was courage and taking responsibility for your actions. David's father had to have courage when he arrested his brother. That takes a lot of guts, but it needed to happen because Frank did wrong and he needed to know that.
        The best character was definitely Uncle Frank. I just found him really weird and interesting. He was definitely the life of the book. I don't really think that he grew or changed before his death. I do believe that if he were still living, he would have learned from his mistakes and grown from them.
       "At the cemetery they made a point of standing on the opposite side of the grave from us. Even I understood the symbolism: Frank's death was an unbridgeable gulf between us." This quotes basically explains itself. It is cool because it shows symbolism. Frank's death has literally split this family and it will take years to bring them back together.
        The only thing I am wondering about my book, is that I would like to see more into the future. How did Frank's wrong-doings and his death affect the family. Larry Watson gave a small preview of this but I think it would be interesting to see more.

3. Call of the Wild

I am currently reading Call of the Wild by Jack London. I have finished reading this book. Since the last blog Buck and his crew were camping out and not really traveling anywhere. Buck decides to go hunting for once, which means he left camp. This big moose comes along, hes the leader of the moose, and Buck decides to go after him. The moose towering over Buck, Buck still somehow maintains to bring the moose down. This goes on for more than a day. buck decides to head for camp when he smells a sharp sent. The sent was blood. He finds all the dogs dead, and worst of all John Thornton is dead due to this tribe called the yah-kees. Adrenaline rush comes over Buck and he kills just about most of the yah-kees and they leave terrified of this ghost dog as they call him. Buck is left to nothing and finally heads for the moose site where he is chased by these wolves. The wolves corner him and finally his friend appears from the crowd and Buck is now running with the big dogs and the book ends.

This book was really good I had no idea that ending was coming it was a big surprise.The book, I wish was a little clearer so I knew what was going on earlier in the book. The author in my opinion wrote this book so he could share the great art that he made and just to let people know that nothing is what you may think it is till it happens because again he was a hobo and he made this book. The ending theme I think was Never give up. never give up even if everything is gone. better things are to come and its not to late for you to be a hero and make something of yourself. The best character is Buck always learning from mistakes always getting the job done no matter how tough. He is obedient and shows his knowledge and inner dog. He is more witty and stronger plus he has a great sense of what to do in what situations like the moose and John Thornton. A cool quote is "no matter how big or small, anything is possible". This really should hit home to people because anything is possible and never giving up is great for you and how you grow. I have no questions currently about his book.

3. Avalanche

        I am have just finished my book. It was called Avalanche by Arthur Roth. When we left off last Chris was still in his hole in the snow waiting for someone to find him. He had just created a signal to help people be able to see where in the snow he was. He would rotate this thing every once and a while so it would flash is all directions. Chris was then on day seven and thinking of ways to kill himself so that he wouldn't have to starve to death. At that same time his brother, Terry, thought about the fight they had and how Chris said that he could go through Hidden Valley faster than Terry. So Terry decided to go out by himself and look for Chris. As he was going he noticed a bird peaking something in the snow. That something was the string holding together Chris's mirror and stick device. Then Chris had been saved by Terry. Chris only lost two of his toes and had made amends with his brother.
           I think that this is a really good book because it has a faster pace to it. There is always something happening, which also helps the book move faster. Then when you start to get into action in any book then you can't set it down. So for me this is a hard book to set down each time I start reading it.
            The reason I think the author wrote this book is to show to show that brothers are really closer than they are. They will always love each other no matter how big of a fight they get in. Maybe he had these moment with his own brother. I think the theme of this book is survival because it is about a boy trying to survive under feet of snow. That here are some ways to survive if you were ever stuck in a situation that Chris is in. My favorite character in the book is Chris because he is the only character that I really been able to make connections to. Through the book he has grown a lot. He has had time to think about he little things in his life. Like that he and his brother, Terry, may fight ,but he will always wish the best for him. A question I have in this book is will Chris make it out of the snow before he dies so he may tell Terry how much he really admires him.

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man
I am reading a book called The Invisible Man.
A person called H.G Wells wrote this book.
I am less then halfway through this book right now.
So far this book is kind of confusing. At the beginning of this book it talks about this mysterious looking man and his arrival at the Bramblehurst railway station. This mysterious man's name is Griffin. Well Griffin arrives at a local hotel in the English village of Iping during a very bad snowstorm. This man has large bandages covering his entire face! As well as a long-sleeve, a thick winter jacket, gloves, large googles and a wide-brimmed hat. He insists that he be left alone. He stays in his room working on various chemicals. He isn't the most friendly either. After awhile he becomes the talk of the town. And this is where I left off at.
In a way i find this book rather odd. Mostly because it just jumps into it and it's kind of confusing at first. I do, however, find it pretty good because it is a mysterious book indeed.
Im not really sure why the other would have wrote this. Maybe this could of happened to him. Or he could of just thought about it.
I think the big idea might be that people are nervous to show other people the real them. So we shouldn't judge a book by its cover and really get to know that person. Maybe they aren't as bad as we think.
I think the main character Griffin is the best. Mostly because he really isn't scared to speak his mind but i feel like as the story goes on he will become more comfortable and open up.
"The poor soul's had an accident or an operation or something." I think that this quote is important because this is what Mrs. Halls thinks when she first sees Griffin. She was judging him by the way he looked and didn't even know if that was the true reason for the bandages or not.
Some questions i have on my book is why didn't the other slowly go into the story? He just kind of jumped right in and to me it didn't really make sense. I was a little lost.

~ Alanna Brumwell

2 Call of the Wild

I am reading the Call of the Wild by Jack London. I have read to page 157 out of 172. In the pages I've read so far Buck and his team keep traveling to different places. They have covered over 3000 miles so far and conditions for the dogs are getting better with the weather changes. The owner of the dogs, Francois has died and a new guy jumpes into his place. His name is John Thorton. Buck loves John and will do anything for John , John loves Buck to.
The wilderness is treating them well. Buck had pulled over 1000 pounds of flour because some men didn't believe Thorton. So Buck pulled the load and won a lot of money and John used it on a gun. With the gun Thorton is able to hunt and come up with food easier for the dogs. At night while camp is set up Buck hears noises and decides to find it. This noise is a Wolf that Buck turnes out to be best budds with, and some nights he would go find him.
This book is really good and very intense and yet again keeps you reading on. This book makes me wounder what it would be like if I were there. As I keep reading on and learning about Jack London, it made me realize this was his life, and he is now putting himself as a dog and creating new things in the book to go along. He had enough time on his hands to be able to make this and it turns out to be a great book. The big theme of the book would be keep driving on and it pays out in the end. The best character is Buck he never talks but shows us what hes made of. He loves to be around people and never gives up. He never backs down from a fight and is very skilled. He has grown in how strong he is and instinct. He becomes a leader and showed he could lead the team by how well he can adjust and keep going. There are many cool quotes in this story but I can't decide which one is the best between the descriptions and intesive quotes describing what the books main theme is. Jack London gets very confusing with big words and most of the story is lost because he doesn't come out and tell you whats happening so big question what is going on in the book.
Ryan Kelchen

Post Two. The Member of the Wedding. By Carlyn.

          I am reading The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. I am on page 71 which is about half way through the book. So far, her brother is engaged and she is very jealous. Now, however she isn't jealous because she thinks that after the wedding she will just move in with her brother Jarvis, and his new bride. She walks all around town telling people about it, and she tells a solider who is WASTED. The solider thinks that she is older than she is (she's twelve) and so he starts hitting on her, and asks her on a date. She says yes. They're going to go dancing at 8 o'clock. That's as far as I've read.
         I really don't like this book. Until the solider hitting on her it was the most boring thing I've ever read. I think that the motivation the author may have had for writing this book was to show kids, and adults, that they're not the only ones who hate themselves sometimes, everybody has those days. Also, to show small town cliques and stuff; how small towns function. I think those are the main themes, those and jealousy. Jealousy is a big one. Frankie is SO jealous of everyone, her brother, soldiers, and girls her age.
         I like the servant, Berenice, so far. Just cause when Frankie gets all creepy, or whiney, or weird, Berenice puts her in her place.
Here's a quote I liked from the book, "I love the two of them so much. We'll go to every place together. I love the two of them so much!" Page 43. This just shows how weird Frankie is. Like third wheel EXTREME.
Some questions I have are: What is going to happen on their date? Will she actually move in with them? Will Jarvis be okay with that? When will it get good?

2)Trance

      I just finished reading Trance by Linda Gerber. The book is basically about this girl named Ashlyn, who has these trances where she can see when something bad is about to happen. While in a trance she writes down a bunch of numbers, so her and her sister have to figure out what they mean to stop something bad from happening. Ashlyn doesn't have the best life. Her mom is dead, her sister left and she doesn't know where she is, and her dad is away on business trips a lot. She only has one friend and she blames herself for her moms death. At work she meets a boy named Jake,but whenever she is around him she goes into a trance. In the trance she sees a boy being hit by a car. It takes her awhile to figure it out, but the boy in the trance is Jake. She saves him from being hit by the car and they live happily ever after...I think.
     I really liked this book and would recomend it to anyone! The book is such an easy read so it didn't take me long to read it. The thing about me is that I'm such a picky reader, if the book is boring for even one chapter it's like torture for me to read it. Fortunetly, this was not the case for this book. The thing I liked the best about the book is that it's different from anything I have ever read. It never gets boring and suprises you in every chapter. Overall great book!
    The author wrote this book because she wanted to show that everyone is different. Ashlyn has trances and everyone at school thinks she is kind of weird, this causes Ashlyn to hate her Trances when there really a gift. She can save peoples lives with them. I think the message Gerber is trying convey is that just because your different it doesn't mean your weird and that something your ashamed of, might be able to help somebody in the future. This also could be the theme of the book.
    The best character in the book would have to be Ashlyn. She is kind of an outcast, but thats why I like her...she is different from everyone else and has the potential to save peoples life. From the begining of the book she has grown a lot. At first, she thought her trances were a curse and she hated them a lot. At the end of the book, after she tells Jake about her visions and saves him, she realizes that maybe her trances were good. That she could help people with them. She learned to except that is who she is and she can't change it.
   “Never use limitations as an excuse for mediocrity.” This is an important quote in the book. I think it means that you can't make excuses for not trying your hardest on things. Don't let limitations stop you from what your doing, fight for what you believe in.
    Now that I've read the book the only questions I would have is, what happens in the future? Do Ashlyn and Jake get married? Do the trances ever go away? Does she save more people lives? Does the relationship between her and her dad get better? So many questions! They need to make a sequal!

2.) The Lucky One

     I finished reading The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.  I thought it was a really good book!  It was about a former marine named Logan Thibault who walked cross-country to find the girl in a picture that he believes is a lucky charm.  He ends up falling in love with Elizabeth (the girl from the picture) and her family of her son, Ben, and grandmother Nana.  However, Keith Clayton, Elizabeth's ex-husband, is causing problems for Logan and Elizabeth.  At the end, he scares Ben off to his rickety tree house in the middle of a terrible storm.  Logan, Elizabeth, Keith, and Nana rush to rescue him and find him dangling at the end of a rope in the fast-running creek.  Logan, Zeus (Logan's faithful dog), and Keith dive in to save Ben.  Keith doesn't make it out alive, but the rest do.  After this, the surviving become a happy family.
   
     The end was really well written I thought.  It made you believe that both Keith and Logan had died in the creek.  The author continued the theme of destiny throughout the book.  Logan's friend Victor was the main supporter of destiny in the book and began to get Logan to believe it to.   I think one of the main reasons he wrote this is because he enjoys writing and it's his way of expressing his ideas and beliefs.          
     
     Nana is still probably one of my favorite character.  She's not shy and has some interesting sayings!   After reading the book, I want to see the movie and how the book was portrayed in it.  I've heard good reviews about it, but that it was a little different then the book.  I don't really have any questions about the book.  The ending was wrapped up pretty well.

2. Montana 1948

      I am reading Montana 1948 by Larry Watson. I am currently about half way through the book. Last time I blogged, I had basically only talked about the introduction of characters. A lot has happened since then. Basically, while Marie is sick, she has Uncle Frank check up on her, but when Uncle Frank goes in the room alone with Marie, she freaks out. Marie is screaming and is calling for David's mom (Gail). After Uncle Frank leaves, Marie tells Gail that a lot of her Indian friends have been taken advantage of by Doctor Frank. This of course shocks Gail because her brother-in-law is raping innocent women. There is a lot of dramatic irony because when Gail tells her husband, they don't know that David is listening. David knows everything that is going on, but no one else knows. Later, their family goes to David's grandfather's house and David's father confronts Frank about it. He gets upset and does admit to doing it. David's father says, despite being a police officer, that he will not release his secret. Gail disagrees with this. She believes that he should be busted. About a week later, after an afternoon of fishing, they come home and find Marie dead. This, of course, hurts David because he loved her. He also knows a serious secret that he isn't supposed to know which makes him feel guilty. 
       I think this book is good, but it is also kind of weird. The moral of the story isn't very clear yet, so it's hard for me to tell if I will like it.      
       To be honest, I have no idea why the author wrote this book. I have no idea what the moral of the story is yet. I believe that once I know the moral, I will be able to see the author's purpose in writing the book.
       If I had to take a guess at what the theme is, I would guess courage. It might have something to do with him having to admit the secret he knows. This will be extremely difficult for David because of his shyness.
      The best character so far is David. He knows a lot of secrets, but is kind of a shy a guy. It will be interesting to see how he grows because he will eventually have to let go of the secret he knows. I have seen a small change in him when he is making plans to tell his father what he knows. Before, he had no intentions of letting his mother or father know that he knows about his Uncle Frank's wrongdoings.
      "This was my chance. I could ride along with my father and, when we were alone, tell him what I knew." This demonstrates that David wants to tell his father that he knows everything, even though it will be really hard for him. It is important because it shows a little bit of the change he is starting to go through.      
      The only question I have about my book is what is the theme? I will have to keep reading to find out.

Jarrett Stalllman

4/19/2012

ms. Neilsen

English 9

     I am reading a book called "Finding Alaska". This book was written by John Green, I am about half way through this book right now.

    So far in my book Miles Halter who lives in Florida and he hates it there. He has no one to hang out with and is a good student. So he moves into his dads old high school, called Culver Creek. This is a private in Alabama and he will be staying there and only come back on holidays. So he get there and meets his room mate and his name is Chip Martin but every one there call him "the colonel" because he is the king of pranks there at Culver Creek. There principal is the called the Eagle and is a very mean principal. The second person he meets is Alaska a beautiful girl that he just falls in love as soon as he walks in her room. Some things they do so far is go and they always smoke cigaretts at the smoke hole and one day they get caught by the Eagle and have to go to "court". Now the Colonel is determined to find out who ratted them out because the kids at Culver Creek hate rat. He never finds out but the next day at 12:00 A.M while the Colonel is out of the room Miles gets taken by the kids called the "Weekday Warriors" and taken down to the lake and is taped up from head to toe and thrown in the lake and the only words the kids said to Mile was we don't like who ever hangs with the Colonel. Then thanksgiving comes and everyone leaves the dorms besides 10 kids and 2 of them where Alaska and Miles. And Miles is in love with Alaska and all he talks about but Alaska has a guy in her life who she really loves. So once everyone leaves Alaska takes Miles and they break into the "Weekday Warriors" dorm stealing all of the acohol and inappropriate magizenes in there dorm rooms.

 

 Now I don't read very much but I love this book and because of this can not put it down and just want to keep reading and reading it to find out what happens with Alaska and Miles and not to mention what kind of trouble the Colonel gets into. 

 The theme of this book is what we kids like to say is yolo (you only live once) and to live life to its fullest. Life is short and sweet make the very best of it and live every day like it is the last one and never look back on the bad and live up the good ones.

  I think the Colonel is the best character because you never know what he is going to do next. He has grown in this book because he felt he needed his "girl" just to yell at and she would fight with him. But they broke up now and now he knows he never needed that in his life.

 Alaska says to Miles  "This is so hard sitting here alone in my dorm with an amazing cute boy, while my boyfriend is sitting back at home" the reason this is important is because it give Mile a hint Alaska has feelings for him.

  I have one question and that is WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

 

2. Avalanche

            Right now I am reading the book Avalanche. It is by Arthur Roth and I am on page 106. So far in the book the main character, Chris, Is stuck under feet of snow. Right now he is at day five. He is on his last half of his grouse left and then he is out of food. For water he is just eating snow. Then while digging in the snow he found a branch of a tree that is long enough to stick out of the top the snow cave. In one of his dreams he remembered that his old compass has a mirror on it. He then took out the mirror strapped it on the stick and stuck it through the top of the snow. He has to rotate it once and a while so that it makes a flash and maybe his rescuers might find him before he dies from starvation and the cold.
            I think that this is a really good book because it has a faster pace to it. There is always something happening, which also helps the book move faster. Then when you start to get into action in any book then you can't set it down. So for me this is a hard book to set down each time I'm reading it.
            The reason I think the author wrote this book is to show to show that brothers are really closer than they are. They will always love each other no matter how big of a fight they get in. Maybe he had these moment with his own brother. I think the theme of this book is survival because it is about a boy trying to survive under feet of snow. That here are some ways to survive if you were ever stuck in a situation that Chris is in. My favorite character in the book is Chris because he is the only character that I really been able to make connections to. Through the book he has grown a lot. He has had time to think about he little things in his life. Like that he and his brother, Terry, may fight ,but he will always wish the best for him. A question I have in this book is will Chris make it out of the snow before he dies so he may tell Terry how much he really admires him.

1. The Lucky One

     I'm am reading The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.  I am about half-way through my book.  I started reading it because of Tiffany's recommendation.  So far, Logan Thibault, the main character and a former marine, has been on a cross-country journey in order to find the girl in a picture that he believes keep in alive in Iraq.  After figuring out what he could from the picture he made his way to North Carolina and asked around about the girl.  Eventually, he found that she works at a kennel with her grandmother and they are looking for employees.  Logan takes the job and ends up befriending Elizabeth (the girl from the picture), her son Ben, and Nana (Elizabeth's grandmother).  However, Elizabeth's ex-husband is still interfering in their lives.

     I think this is a really good book.  I like how the perspectives are changed so that you see what each character is like and it keeps it interesting.  I think the story is interesting too.  I like Nana because of her sayings and how she is such a good judge character.

     I think one of the themes is destiny.  Logan had a friend Victor who strongly believed in it and because of that Thibault met Elizabeth and has finally gotten out of the slum he's been in.  It pops-up frequently in the book and Thibault tries to understand what his role is and why he's there.  I think the author wrote the book because that's what he enjoys doing.  It is a way for him to connect to people and get his ideas out.

     I am excited to see how things work out between Elizabeth and Thibault.  I wonder if Thibault will figure out why he's there and what will happen with Clayton (Elizabeth's ex).

3.) Beauty

        I am reading the book Beauty, by Robin McKinley. I just finished the book and  am glad I read it. Since my last post, Beauty has gone home to see her family and tell her sister Grace that her fiance, Robbie, has come back home to land. The Beast is sad to see her go, but lets her leave for a week. She goes home and realizes how much she really missed her family. Before she left, the Beast gave her a rose the would stay bloomed until the week was up. When the rose started to die, Beauty would know that the Beast was dying. When Beauty tries to return to the castle, she ends up getting there over a week after she left. She finds the Beast dying in his room and has to hurry over to him. He ends up being alive and okay. Beauty realizes that she loves him, and says that she will marry him. He turns into a handsome prince again and they are planning to get married that afternoon.  Beauty's family shows up with other people from the town and they end up having a double wedding with Grace and Robbie.

        I really liked the ending of the book, but I wish that it would have expanded a little more. I felt like I wanted it to go a little bit past them deciding to get married. I thought that the book overall was really good and interesting. It combined a lot of genres of books and kept the story line moving without it seeming really slow. I think that Robin McKinley wrote this book because maybe it was something that she could base off of herself. Maybe she modeled Beauty to be like her or somebody that she knew.

        I still think that the theme of Beauty is that it is what's on the inside that counts. I think that this comes out in the book because even though the Beast is extremely ugly, Beauty still falls in love with him because he is a kind person and loved her. Also, Beauty wasn't very attractive at all before she went to live with the Beast. Her family and people in her town love her and respect her because she is so kind hearted and full of life. I think that the best character is still Beauty because I admire how she fell in love with the Beast despite how he looked. She was very cautious at the beginning of the book, but she learned to love and open up. She also had a very low self-esteem because she was ugly, but it got better after she realized that she wasn't that bad looking.

         I think that an important quote would be when Beauty says, " It's magic, it'll fade away. It's not possible." This shows that Beauty didn't always believe the truth and only thought what she wanted. People today often are too closed minded to things and need to believe a little to make life better. Beauty thought it was just magic. I'm not saying that people in reality believe in magic, but more that they need to open their minds to the possibilities.

        I don't really have any questions left because they were all answered at the end of the book. I just want to know what happened after they got married. I wish that the book said something about this or McKinley wrote a sequel to Beauty.

4th quarter post 1

Right now I am reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. I am about half way through the book. So far Harry and Ron have almost been expelled from school from flying a car to school and getting caught.  Other than that not a ton more has happened. Harry and the group are just settling into class right now. The school also has a new profesor Gilderoy Lockhart who is a total airhead and thinks he is the best thing to walk along the earth. I think it is good because it is never boring. I mean it is not super exciting quite yet, but the author sneaks in little details to make everything somewhat exciting or dangerous. I think the author wrote this to continue the series and to express her imagination. There is no doubt that the theme is fantasy. Almost everything in the book could not happen to the average human-being. I think that the author is trying to get readers to open their imagination and top shoot for the stars. I think the best character so far is Gilderoy Lockhart because the author does a great job of getting him under your skin.  J.K. Rowling develops him so well, it wants me want to go into the book and punch him. He has not change at all, he is still a gigantic airhead. "

Post One of The Member of the Wedding. Carlyn Haassssss!

I am reading my classic book, The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. I am about of a fourth of the way through it and it is just boring as all get out. Just awful. It's about this 12 year old misfit during World War 2 who hates her life, and her brother comes home with his bride to be and announces he is getting married next week. For some reason, not sure why, she is mad/jealous about it. The wedding is on Sunday and she's mad, but excited for it...? It's not a good book. I have no idea why the author wrote this. Maybe to teach us about jealousy? Or how everyone has troubles growing up? I have no idea what the theme is.
This is a quote from the book that I thought was pretty messed up, but memorable: "He smelled like a sour little rose. Frankie leaned down and licked him behind the ear." She just licks her little cousin while he's sleeping. Maybe if she wasn't so creepy she wouldn't hate her life so much.....
I have lots of questions about the book at this point: Why is she mad her brothers getting married? That doesn't make sense to me. Why did she start stealing things? Is the whole book just going to be her wallowing in self-pity?
                                                               ----CARLYN.

Blog 2 Taite Gallagher: Catching Fire

Right now I am still reading Catching Fire by Susan Collins. So since my last post there has been a lot of new things in the book. Now we know that there was a district 13 that was nuked and destroyed, Katniss moved into her new house were the winners of the hunger games from district 12 live, and there is going to be another Hunger Games that both Katniss and Peta have to be in.

The book overall is turning out very good. It has the drama because of another Hunger Games and finding out about district 13. Not a lot of action yet though but it's probably going to come later in the book. The author wrote this book because of mainly Katniss, and how she sets a good example for what a older sibling should act like and the responsibility that they might have to take.

The best character right now is still Katniss. She has really developed as the main character in standing for what she believes in. An example is when the president of the districts(President Snow) comes to talk to Katniss, she is not afraid to tell Snow that she does not like him and she even straight up tells him that one day she will kill him.

The theme of the book is Loyalty. Katniss stays loyal to Peta in the first book and doesn't go against him ever. She is also loyal to her sister because Katniss told her if she got her name drawn to go to the Hunger Games then Katniss will volunteer for her. And she does. I can't wait to find out what happens next in the book!

Never Cry Wolf

1.Never Cry Wolf

2.Farley Mowat

3.I am about one fourth of the way done with the book.

4.Mowat is a man that is very interested in life. He has gone to many schools and studied about animals. He went to an ottawa tribe to study as well. Mowat's first assignment has to do with wolves. This is one of the harder tasks because he could die. He has been transported to a remote area. Now he is looking for another flight to go even farther into the wilderness.

5.So far the book is okay. My attention has not really been grabbed yet, but its still early on in the book.

6.I think the author wrote this book to show the life of a wolf, or maybe they just really like wolves.

7.The theme is wolves, and the idea is to show how amazing they are.

8.Right now id say the best character is Mowat because he is really the only main one.

9."The wolf Lieutenant Mowat is your problem!" This is showing what assignment Mowat will have to do.

10.I am wondering what is he going to be studying about the wolves?

by Adam Nelson-Ockenfels

Never Cry Wolf

1.Never Cry Wolf

2.Farley Mowat

3.I am about one fourth of the way done with the book.

4.Mowat is a man that is very interested in life. He has gone to many schools and studied about animals. He went to an ottawa tribe to study as well. Mowat's first assignment has to do with wolves. This is one of the harder tasks because he could die. He has been transported to a remote area. Now he is looking for another flight to go even farther into the wilderness.

5.So far the book is okay. My attention has not really been grabbed yet, but its still early on in the book.

6.I think the author wrote this book to show the life of a wolf, or maybe they just really like wolves.

7.The theme is wolves, and the idea is to show how amazing they are.

8.Right now id say the best character is Mowat because he is really the only main one.

9."The wolf Lieutenant Mowat is your problem!" This is showing what assignment Mowat will have to do.

10.I am wondering what is he going to be studying about the wolves?

by Adam Nelson-Ockenfels

2.) Beauty

        I am reading the book Beauty by Robin McKinley. I am about three-fourths done with the book now.

        Since my last post a lot has happened. Beauty has gone to live with the Beast in his castle so that she could spare her father's life. She was terrified at first and wouldn't even touch the Beast. She's gotten over her fear and has learned that she is very fond of him. The castle is enchanted so everything obeys Beauty and serves her needs. She can always feel two "breezes" when she is in the castle and has learned from the Beast that they are invisible maids. Their names are Linda and Bessie and they take care of her in the castle. They often talk to each other about the enchantment but are never clear on how it got put on the castle. Beauty can hear them talk even when they think that she can't. Beauty has had a couple of meltdowns when she really misses her family. She hinted to the Beast that she wanted to go home, but he said that he couldn't let her. She fainted and later ran to her room. Now, Beauty doesn't know what she would do even if he let her go. She would want to see her family but couldn't leave him alone. This shows how much she likes him now. Also, after dinner every night, the Beast asks her to marry him. Beauty always says no even though it hurts her to deny his offer.

        I really like this book now and I think it is very interesting. It has gotten a lot better and grabs my attention. Now that I am towards the end, it is hard for me to put it down sometimes. I thought that it would be a lot like Beauty and the Beast, but it is a lot different and has a lot more detail than the movie. I think that Robin McKinley wrote this book because it was a good way to combine romance, adventure, and action into one. Maybe she based Beauty off of herself or someone she knew. I still think that the theme is that beauty doesn't always mean anything. Just because you aren't beautiful, doesn't mean that you aren't a good person or someone worth getting to know. I think that McKinley wanted her readers to think about this because it is a good lesson and possibly something that she really believes in.

        I think that the best character is still Beauty because she is so kind and courageous. Even though she goes through so much pain in missing her family, she know that she can't leave and accepts that. She also doesn't hate the Beast just because he is ugly. She looks deeper than how he looks and is starting to love him. She has grown a lot in many ways. Beauty is more thoughtful now and feels more and more empathy for the Beast. She doesn't want to hurt him and always apologizes when she realizes that she was wrong or ungrateful for is care toward her.

        I think that a cool quote is, "You may think what you like of course, butI shan't give up and neither will he." I think that this is a good quote because even though thinks look impossible for the Beast ever turning back into a man, Lynda won't give up because she believes anything s possible. I think that a lot of people would benefit from think like this because it helps brighten how you look at things.

        I only have a few questions that I think will be answered at the end of the book. One is that I want to know if Beauty will ever leave the castle and return home. I also want to know if the Beast will ever turn back into a man. Lastly, I want to know if Beauty will ever actually see Linda and Bessie.

1. Avalanche

         This quarter I will be reading the book Avalanche. It is by Arthur Roth and I am on about page 60. So far in the book the main character is, Chris, who is living in his older brother's shadow. His brother, Terry, is an all-star in all the sports he does and wins their father's love. Then one day Chris decided to go hunting for grouse and on the way home he spots a coyote. Terry has never shot a coyote so he thinks if he does he could win over some of his father's love. When the gun goes off it triggers an avalanche that buries him in feet of snow. So far he has made it to day tree and is wondering if anyone will find him.
        I like this book a lot better than the last book I read. The last book was a slow paced book and nothing really happened until the very end. This book I sat down and just started flying through the pages because it had action already happening since the first chapter. I think that this will be one of my favorite books once I finish it. The reason I think the author wrote this book is because it shows that you never know when your life could be taken away from you and maybe you had said things or done things that you wish you could say sorry, but can never do it. Then that might be how a person remembers you from. Like how Chris and Terry always fight over who is better, but inside they truly love each other and hope for the best for both of them.
        The theme of this book may be survival because it is a story about Chris who is trying to survive under feet of snow. Show what a person could do when trapped in a small cave like place that you can't escape. My favorite character in the book has to be Chris because he is the only character that they really talk about. So then he is the only one that you learn about. I kind for feel sympathy for him because he has to live in his brother's shadow and that must be awful. So far he is realizing that all the things he had said or done to Terry he might not be able to take back. So he is striving to survive so he can make amends with his brother.

1) Trance

     I am reading Trance by Linda Gerber, and am about one-fourth of the way through the book. Basically, the book is about a girl named Ashlyn that has visions of things before they happen. The visions never make sense so she has to figure them out with her sister Kyra, who also has these visions. While in a "trance" they write down a bunch of numbers, and they have no idea what they mean, so they have to try to figure them out. One day Kyra had a vision of Ashlyn and her mom getting in a car accident, but Ashlyn doesn't believe her. Later that day they get into a car accident and the mom dies. Ashlyn blames herself for what happens and so does Kyra. Kyra moves out and Ashlyn is left alone to figure out the strange visions she keeps getting.
    I really like this book! I had to force myself to stop reading until I did a blog post. The book is just so interesting. It's such an easy read and it never gets boring, something interesting is always happening. It starts out by making you ask question that you have to keep reading until you find out. Like how her mom died and what happened between her and this boy Nick, that makes her hate him, but still like him, at the same time. It's so hard to put down. The authors motivation for writing this novel was to  make you realize just because you have something "different" about you, it's nothing to be ashamed about. For Ashlyn, she goes into these trances and everyone thinks she's weird. Even her own parents are ashamed of her and her sister because they had this ability. Kids need someone to relate to if there in this situation. To show you that the something "different" about you might help you in the future. This also could also be the theme of the book.
    My favorite character would have to be Ashlyn or Gina. Gina is a pregnant girl that Ashlyn works with at the mall. She says whatsever on her mind and tells you what she thinks. She just a very real person. At first she is kind of rude and snobby, but after a while she is really nice and you get to know the real Gina. Thats how her character developes over the course of the book. I also like Ashlyn because she has these trances. I feel a lot of empahy for her as well. She only has one friend, her mom is dead, her dad is always traveling for his job, and she is all alone.
   "Even though at the time we didn't understand what kind of power our ability held, we knew. Our gift was no longer a gift. It was a curse." This is an important quote because she realizes her special ability is not something she should be proud of. It something to hide and dread. Something to be ashamed of. Something even her parents are ashamed of. I  have a lot of questions about this book. Will she fall in love with this guy Jake she meet? What happened between her and Nick? What is the trance about? Will the trances ever stop? Will she ever get a hold of Kyra? So many questions, but know I can keep reading.
 

B1 Call of the Wild

I am reading the book Call of the Wild by Jack London. I've read to page 42 out of 172 pages so far. In this book the main character is a dog named Buck. Buck was stolen and is growing very rapidly both in size toughness and mind. Buck was taken and is put into an environment that makes him uncomfortable and very timid. He learns quickly that this place does not serve up kindness instead dog fights happen to see who is the stronger dog. Most of the time the losing dog losses. Buck learns more and more to the point that he can win a fight or keep one from happening. New dogs come and learn the same but some aren't lucky to see the next day. One older dog comes in and he has no eye on one side. Buck approaches curiously and Buck about gets his head torn off. Buck finds out how to stay warm during the cold and how to protect himself. This book for me got off way to slow and still is slow but great detail and makes you feel like you are Buck. Other than being slow very good book. I think the author wrote this because he needed something to keep him company Jack London had a very bad life other than writing and making money but he was once a hobo and needed something to keep him up and that's why I think he wrote this award winning novel. I think the theme is that you need to be comfortable with the uncomfortable like how Buck is dealing with it and that everybody deals with it to. The best character is still Buck just his instincts and he knows when to pick a fight just makes him a hero and how he just is hopeless at once but pops back up and keeps going and quickly learns. He was a timid dog now he's a force to be reckoned with. A cool quote would have to be "My breed to time of wild dogs ranged in packs,through the primeval forest, and killed as they run them down." Currently I have no questions about this book.

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Keegan Paisley

Right now I am reading The first book in the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. It was written by J.R.R. Tolkien. I am about a quarter through thee book now and have met the exciting character Tom Bombadil who helps our hobbit friends through the forest. Sadly, Tom did not appear in the movie when it was released. The theme of this story is adventure and suspense, I am currently at the Prancing Pony Inn, where a strange man known as "Strider" stares at the hobbits. The best character so far is Gandalf. The wizard just has so many tricks up his sleeve that you don't know what's coming next. Gandalf has disappeared  to seek help from his friend Saruman. One of the most recent quotes is:

Frodo: What do you want? 
Strider: A little more caution from you; that is no trinket you carry. 
Frodo: I carry nothing. 
Strider: Indeed. I can avoid being seen if I wish, but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift. 

This Quote is important because it shows that Strider knows of the ring and of its power and temptation already. Some questions I have are: When are the "Dark Riders" going to get to the Prancing Pony? and Did they sense Frodo when he put the ring on?

1.) Beauty

        I am reading the book Beauty by Robin McKinley. I've read a few chapters so far and it is mostly just introductions to characters and the background of things.

        So far, I have found out that the main character is Honour (Beauty). Everyone calls her Beauty because when she was little she didn't like her birth name and she wanted to be called Beauty. This is kind of ironic because she isn't really that pretty of a girl. Beauty has two older sisters named Grace and Hope. They all lived in a town with there father who worked on ships. Their father was very wealthy because of his job and they lived in a really nice house. Beauty's father lost his fortune when three of his ships went missing and had to move his family to a little house in the woods. One of the ships had Grace's fiance, Robbie, on it and they are guessing that he died. They moved to the little house when Hope's fiance Gervain asked them to move in with them. Now they just moved in and are trying to get to know people in the little town.

        I think that it is okay so far. Nothing has really happened that is exciting and it just talks about how the characters are feeling. I don't think it is bad and it is a little interesting learning about their family background. I think that Robin McKinley wrote Beauty because it could hit a lot of different genres of books. It is partially romance, mystery, adventure, and a little historic. I think the theme is that you should never judge a book by its cover. Even though Beauty isn't the prettiest girl, she still is very kind and tries to look on the bright side of things.

        I think that the best character is Beauty because she is very kind and positive. When she found out that they had to move away from their home because of money problems, she didn't get mad. She tried to look at the bright side and said that it would give them more time with family. She was also really kind to the young kids playing on the street even though she didn't know them.

        I think that when Beauty says, " I guess I'd better go do what he says," it is a good quote because it shows how much she obeys people. I think that this line is used in some way or another by everyone because people often do things even when they don't want to. Beauty does obey people and wants to do what is right.

        I mostly just want to know what happened to Robbie. Since his ship was one that got lost, Grace is very upset and I feel bad for her. I also want to know who Beauty will become friends with and what her role is going to be in the family now that they don't have maids.

1. Montana 1948

      I am reading Montana 1948,  a classic novel written by Larry Watson. I am a little less than a quarter of the way through.
      So far, not much has happened. The beginning of the book is mostly background information and introduction of characters. Basically, I have met David (the narrator), Mom, Dad (a police man), Uncle Frank (a doctor), and Marie (called the housekeeper, but is actually a babysitter). What has happened so far is very minimal. Marie has an indian background and she gets sick. This upsets David because he is kind of affectionate towards Marie. He doesn't like to see Marie in pain. Whereas, David's father has no sympathy. Marie hates doctors and David's father is very racist toward Marie because he believes that the reason she won't see a doctor is because of her indian background. This is basically the extent of what I've read so far. David tells a lot of old stories about living in a small town and being compared to other people.
      So far, this book hasn't done much to excite me. I do have a good feeling about it though because there is a police man in the story. Police men often have stories to tell and I think there might be a little mystery inside this book.
      On the front cover of the book it says, "A beautiful novel about the meaning of place and evolution of courage..." This makes me believe that the message in this book is courage. So maybe the author experienced a similar situation and wanted people to learn about it. I am also predicting that courage will be the theme of the book. I'll have to wait and see.
      So far, the best character is David (the narrator). He seems kind of odd. He has a huge crush on his babysitter who is way older than him. I also kind of think of him as an outcast. David seems rather interesting. I definitely have not seen him grow or change yet. I will have to keep reading.
      David says, "Out of town I could simply be, I could feel my self, firm and calm and unmalleable as I could not when I was in school or in any of the usual human communities that seemed to weaken or scatter me." This is important because it seems kind of odd. I believe that David is shy and awkward around people, like an outcast.
      The only question I have so far about my book is what will the inciting incident be? Something has to get the ball rolling and make this an exciting book.

Ben Ranard Call of the Wild

The book I am reading is Call of the Wild by Jack London. He wrote this because he was a hobo. I am at page 50 about. So far the dog has gotten taken and he grows big and tough because he has had to fight other dogs. I think it is a little boring because the start of book are always like that. I think this was his motivation because he did not have anything. I don't know what the theme is yet. The main character is Buck the dog. He has grown up and has gotten stronger. I don't have any questions at this point. I don't know any quotations yet either.

Preliminary Posts

If you've just picked out a book and/or begun to read, please feel free to publish a preliminary post.  This is just a quick post that tells me what book you're reading and who wrote it.  You may also want to post a prediction or ask any questions that come up as you're looking the book over or reading the first few pages.

This does not count as Blog Post #1.  It might be easier if you make the title of your post  "Prelim. Post on >insert title here<."

Please go back to the first posts and re-read the criteria for this project (what you need to do in each post).  If you are unsure about anything, please ask.

Happy Reading!

Taite Gallagher Blog 1: Catching Fire

Right now I am reading Catching Fire by Susan Collins. My sister was the one that got me into this book because The Hunger Games movie came out and she wanted people to get into it. I have read 5 chapters so far. Katniss (the main character) is recovering from the games. She is heading back to the city for a celebration and a recap of the games. I think so far the book is fairly good. I say this because it's not as good as the first book was but i wouldn't say its terrible. I would just personally say it's not as action packed as the first one was. But yet its only the first 5 chapters so hopefully it will get better.

I think the author wrote not only this book but the entire series to show were we are going. Mainly showing how entertainment in the future will turn out. I think it's just a bunch of personal opinions, some I agree with, others I don't. The best character is Katniss because she is the main character and we get to see her a lot in the book. She is a young girl (in her teens) who volunteered to go to the hunger games to save her sister prim. So just in the first book you could see how she grew in responsibility. Another example is when Peta gets hurt in the games and Katniss defends him and aids him. I am not far enough in the book to see if katniss has changed a lot but in my next post hopefully I will be able to tell.

A question I have for the book is "why are we not hearing about Peta? Is he dead?" I hope I am able to find out!

Blog 3 Mockingjay

Right now I am also reading the book Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Right now I am on page thirty-two. So far in my book Katniss, the main character, is dealing with the pain of knowing she destroyed her district. She is on the edge of insanity. Peeta, one of her best friends, was captured by the Capital and is thought to be dead. But he recently was interviewed by the Capital and was aired on television. He made traitor remarks and now everyone in the district Katniss is living in, wants to kill him. It is very good. The book is a constant thrill so far and it urges you to keep reading. I think that Suzanne Collins wrote this book  simply because she likes to write and she needed to finish the series. She is a big writer and is also none for writing the Overland series. The theme is clearly action. The book is always in action one-hundred percent of the time. I think the author wanted readers to see how cruel the world can be and how we could destroy it with a touch of a button. The best character in the book so far is Gale. He has changed since the start of the series, he has developed a sort of dark side or deep hate for Peeta and the Capital. "I killed you and you and you." That is a very important quote in this book because Katniss blames herself for the deaths of her people. My main question is how the heck are the rebels going to beat the Capital? It seems impossible.

Ben Ranard

In the end Harry gets tricked to go get a prophacy. He doesn't think he is going to get it but thinks he is saving his godfather. When he gets there he finds the prophacy but then the Death Eaters come (Voltamolts followers). They want the prophacy. He does not give it to them. They fight for it and right at the right time the Order of the Phenix (people fighting against Voltamolt) comes and helps Harry. Harry's godfather is there, but he gets killed. Harry runs after the killer and stuns her with a spell. When he is about to kill her Voltamolt comes, but right before Harry die Domboldofe steps in and fights with Voltamolt. In the end neither dies, but the Minister of Magic sees Voltamolt and the truth comes out. Everyone that thought Voltamolt was died now believes Harry that he is back.

Ben Ranard

I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phenix. At the start of the book Harry got attacked by Dementos. They are the guards of a prison. Harry has to fight them off, but then almost gets expled form Hogworts. He then has a meeting and he gets off the hook and can go back.

Taite Gallagher Blog 2: The Hunger Games

There is a movie coming out about the book The Hunger Games so I decided to start reading the books. I am on the first one right now.

There are a couple of main characters we have met so far; Katniss is the main character, Gale is one of her friends, Peta who is chosen for the games along with Katniss, and a couple of others. Basically the story takes place in the future, there are 12 districts in the country. Katniss lives in district 12.

There is a cruel game called The Hunger Games. Every year each district chooses two kids randomly and puts them into the games. They are put into an arena and fight to the death. Right now in the book Katniss and Peta are on a train to go to the main city. So the book looks like it's going to be a good one.

THE CALL OF THE WILD 3
In THE CALL OF THE WILD buck and has team are sold to a nother person and they have a very heavy load and a long way to deliver mail from down south up to the gold miners in the north. they have gone a long way and they all lose a lot of weight even though they are feed good. buck looses 40 pounds out of his previous 150 pounds.
this trip has taken its toal on everybody and the oldest member gets weak and has to be put down because his hips give out and he can't go on.
finaly they make it and they are all releaved.

Hit and Run

1. The book i am reading is called Hit and Run.

2. The author of this book is Lurlene McDaniel.

3. Actually i started to read this toward the end of the summer and just picked back up on it when we got this assignment. I'm almost half way. I'm a slow reader.

4. So far what happened in this book is that there are these four main characters named Laurie who isn't the most popular girl in school and kind of keeps to herself, Quin a guy who everyone thinks is the most amazing guy in the whole school, Analise who is very responsible and gives school her all, and Then there is Jeremy Analise's boyfriend who is a very sweet and nice guy. Well al of them are brought together by something that I haven't read yet. Anyways what is happening now is that Laurie has a big crush on Quin but she thinks he would never go for her because she is a freshman. Then he randomly comes up to her while she is eating lunch and says, " You're Laurie, aren't you? Want to come to a party with me this Friday night?" She is so amazed he mouth just drops open! She says," This Friday?" and he says, " Yes I'll pick you up at seven and no need for directions i know where you live." He gives her a little flirty smile and walks away. Of course my this time she is all smiley and she has butterflies! She goes home and tells her mom and yes you know moms she blows it up and is so happy for her. Then he comes and they drive off. Well in this book it switches from character to character telling their part of the story from their view. So it switches so Jeremy. Jeremy talks about how much he loves Analise. Back to Laurie. She talks about how they show up at the party and there are boozes and smoking and all that good stuff. Quin has been drinking and she hasn't even finished one beer yet. Then she slips off to the bathroom where an older girl proceeds to tell her that Quin is just a player. And he will date her then dump her. Laurie feels hurt by this because she already seems to know she is out of his league. They finally leave and walk to the car in the cold air Laurie's teeth are chattering. He pushes her up against the car and kisses her hard. Her knees got weak and he runs his hands down her back and pulls her closer for a "better fit." Then he jerks away and gets in the car. She is nervous because she doesn't want anything to happen that she isn't ready for. She says that she has other plans for loosing her virginity then in a backseat of a car in the woods. Nothing happens when they get in the car and then the proceed to leave. On the way home Laurie kind of drifts off. Then she hears a whump and metal scratching against the car and the screech of the cars breaks. The jerk of the car and the tightening of the seatbelt snaps her out of her sleep. She hears Quin swear and she is wondering what is going on he says it was just a deer. He goes outside to see and tells Laurie to stay inside. She sees a giant drop off and she gets really worried she asks Quin if she should call 911 and he says no then he drags some branches over whatever he thought he hit and calls it god then the drive away.

5. So far i think this book is amazing like with all the action thats going on it really kept me locked and I usually don't like to read in my free time.

6. Well maybe the other wrote this because who knows it could of happened to her?

7. I feel like the theme is a bunch of things like don't drink and drive, don't try to cover things up and call it good, be honest and don't get pressured.

8. I like Laurie because in a way we can connect. I'm sure all girls can. Sometimes you just get stuck in that place where you don't want a guy to think your a baby or not like you if you have a really big crush on them so your willing to put a lot on the line for them even if your uncomfortable.

9. " I can't come u with any ideas where Analise might be." (Jeremy) This is important because no one knows what happened to Analise and thats not like her she is very responsible and no one has seen her sense the night she went to babysit the same night of that party.

10. What happened to Analise and is she okay?

-- Alanna!

The Last Apprentice

1. The Last Apprentice
2. Joseph Delaney
3. Chapter 11 to the end of the book
4. Tom has been lured away by the witch and her evil son with many teeth. They have taken him far away from the Spook's house. He has been burried in a pit and once he dies the witch wants his blood to make her stronger. The two thumbs that used to be the Spook's last apprentice are casted into the pit with Tom. Then he is forced to drink a strange potion. Then he imagines the previous apprentice that was missing his thumbs trying to kill him because the thumbs are in his pit. Then Alice tells him it is all an illusion and thay no one is in there but him. She helps him out of the pit and they flee together. When the witch was about to catch up to them the Spook appears and slays her and her wicked son. Later Tom is forced to either bury Alice or take her to her human aunt on the coast. He chose to take her to her aunt. Then he began his journey home.
5. I think this book is really good because it reflects on previous events to make the new ones make more sense.
6. I think that the auther made this book out of interest in midevil times.
7. I believe that the theme is more about people doing things for others even if they don't want it. Also never judge a person on who they are with.
8. I like Alice because she seems to want to do the right thing even though she is smothered in evil.
9. "See you later Tom." That is what Alice told Tom when she had to leave him for a long time. It was meaningful because Tom knew he would miss her.
10. Will the Spook continue to live through the whole series?
By,
Adam N.O

Right now I am reading Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling. Right now I am on page 42. So far Harry has been trapped in his Aunt in Uncle's house and is forbidden to leave. All he can look forward to is going back to school. But he is warned by a house elf that sneaks into the house. The elf said that Harry should not go back to school for he is in grave danger. Harry kind of ignores it. A few days later Ron Weasley comes and breaks Harry out of the house he was trapped in.  I think that the book is ok so far. It has started with some action but not a ton. Suspense is starting to build though because Harry is warned that he is in danger. I think the author wrote this to continue the series and keep her imagination going. I also think she did it to provide for her only child. So far I think a big theme is poor living. Ron Weasley is very poor and Harry lives a horrible home life.  I think the author wants to remind readers how lucky you are to be who you are. The best quote so far is when Ron says "You have forgot who I have got with me." This is Ron referring to his brothers who can do anything. The question I have is if Harry is really in great danger or if the elf is tricking him or something.

Recruited

I finished the book Recruited by Susanne Weyn. This story is about this kid named Kadeem and he is the best quarterback for south side high. He is always being scouted and recruited by college coachers. There are two major colleges he is focusing on and they are Teller university and Peterson university. Now Kadeem is faced with good offers from Teller but he soon finds out that all their offers and what theyve been doing is illegal in the NCAA. He really is then faced with stress and constant smothering of Teller. Kadeem is a very good player but has bad grades and thats what keeps him from Peterson. In the end he finds teller to be a bad and show off college and picks Peterson University. I personaly love this book because it puts in his shoes and makes you imagin what it would feel like. I believe Susanne Weyn wrote this book cause she maybe  felt the same way or was expireiencing the same thing as The character Kadeem. Of course the Theme is Recruiting and Football. The best character is probably Ty, Kadeems friend who is being recruited too. Ty is like a everyday kid who is funny and a person that everybody would love. He hasn't grow really he actually gets sucked into Tellers recruiting buisness and picks them. The best quote from the books is "so what are you saying" it gives you the controll to answer it and leads you to what happens next. The one question I have for this book is why isn't books like theses longer they are so good and more deatails could be added to make it a best seller.

CALL OF THE WILD2nd

In the book CALL OF THE WILD the dogs have been out on the trail for a while now and they are tired of carrying all the food for them and their owner across the land then they go on a trail that has food set out for them and their owner so they do not have to carry all their food.

After they stop for the night they are romping around in the snow when they see a jack rabbit and they go tearing after it. they are running after this rabbit and they run by a police station and there are a bunch of dogs there and they get loose and start chasing the rabbit.

Hunger Games post three.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Third Post.
       I just finished the Hunger Games and it was so soooo good. As Katniss goes to the feast she manages to kill a tribute and get the medicine to heal Peeta. When Peeta is all better he is collecting berries in the woods that he doesn't know are poisonous so one of the other tributes steals some and dies. This leaves Peeta, Katniss and another boy who is very well trained. They manage to kill him and then the Gamemakers announce that the rule was revoked and two winners can no longer happen legally. So Katniss plans on killing herself in Peeta at the same time. However, this would be an embarrassment to the capital so they say two winners would be okay. However, the fact that Katniss did this is seen by the president as a rebellious act and he is not pleased. It ends on a huge cliff hanger leading you in to the next book.
       The underlying themes are oppression, courage, and loyalty. This is what she is trying to teach from her books, real courage, governtmental oppression cause from them gaining too much power, and the definition of true loyalty.
       Peeta is for sure the best character. Sweet, handsome, funny. The whole package.
My favorite quote from him is:
Caesar: “Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?”
Peeta: “Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.”
Caesar: “She have another fellow?”
Peeta: “I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her.”
Caesar: “So, here’s what you do. You win, you go home. She can’t turn you down then, eh?”
Peeta: “I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning…won’t help in my case”
Caesar: “Why ever not?”
Peeta: “Because…because…she came here with me.”
It was the major twist in the book, and prevented you from setting the book down until you finish.
       I have a lot of questions that I know will be answered in the next book. Such as: Who does she end up with? Peeta or Gale? Does President Snow interfere? Do the districts rebel? What will happen at the next hunger games?
----- CARLYN

3. The Hobbit

     I have finished reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  I thought is was a good book.  I still think that the part with Gollum was one of the most important parts because it is when Bilbo finds the ring and it helps them on almost all the other encounters that they face.  After Thorin and Company made it into the dragon's lair in the mountain they eventually found the secret entrance and Bilbo was able to steal a gold cup.  Smaug woke up to find what the hobbit had done and naturally wasn't happy.  He raged out of the cave and flames engulfed everything nearby.  Eventually, he returned to his cave only to once again be visited by the hobbit. At first amused by Bilbo's riddles, he soon began to become infurriated with the Lake-men thinking they were involved in the theft.  He ended up going down after the Lake-men only to be shot and killed.  This action resulted in The Battle of Five Armies because they all wanted their shares of the gold. The dwarves, men, and elves stopped fighting each other and joined forces to defeat the goblins and the wolves.  In the end Bilbo finally made it home to his cozy, hobbit hole.  However, not all the dwarves survived.

     There are still a lot of great characters so I not sure which is my favorite one!  I still like Gandalf and the dwarves and Bilbo.  Gollum is interesting because I think he was really well written.  He acts so distinctly and differently from everyone else.  You kind of pitty him, but at the same time he's someone you'd want to avoid as best you could.  As for themes, I think that the author wanted to convey how power and greed can effect people.  He did this largely through Gollum who has clearly been transformed by the ring. 

     Thorin made a big chage in the end.  He strongly supported getting back his gold and not sharing it with the other people outside the fourteen.  After the battle, on his death bed, he tells Bilbo, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above horded gold, it would be a merrier world."  He has obviously changed his thinking about how he acted. 

     As mentioned in previous posts, I think that the auther wrote this book because that was what he enjoyed doing and to tell a story to help get across some different messages.  Overall, I thought this was a great book.  It was interesting and had many suspenceful moments throughout it.  I'd still like to know how he came up with some of the characters!

I have recently finished reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. In my book Harry Potter has found out he was a wizard. So Harry leaves his mean Aunt and Uncle to go to school at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. He soon finds out that he is a hero in the magical world for killing Lord Voldemorte. When Harry goes to Hogwarts he is extremly happy. Harry is extremly curious and thinks he knows about a magical stone that keeps people alive.  He soon meets Ron and Hermione and together they accomplish remarkable feats. Harry,Hermione, and classmate Neville get into trouble one night. As a punishment they had to go in the woods and they spot a horrible beast drinking a unicorn's blood. Harry panicks and thinks it could have to do with the sorcerer's stone. So he goes through a huge maze to find it and has to defeat Lord Voldemorte to get the stone before he does. He does and he eventually has to leave Hagwarts when the school year is over.

I think it is very good because it is original and a great mix of action and fantasy. I think her motivation for righting it was because she was a single mother that was struggling. So I think she did it mostly for her daughter. She also started writing the book in the spur of the moment. She started writing the book on a napkin in a cafe`.The main theme by far is fantasy. I believe that the main idea of the book is that anything can happen. Harry Potter I think is the best charactor in this book because he is very brave and outgoing. He has gained a ton of confidence through out the book and has had close friends for the first time in his life. A good quote in the book is when the watchmen Filch says "Well, well, well we ar in trouble." I thinks this is important because it basically starts the rising action in the book.  My only question about the book is do you have to catch the snitch to win a quidditch game.

On Mystic Lake

The book that i have been reading for this quarter is called On Mystic Lake, by Kristin Hannah. So far i am on chapter 8, so about half way through the book, and really enjoying this story about heart break, love and family. The main character is a middle aged women named Annie. Right from the beginning you find out that her husband has been cheating on her and wants a divorce, so she goes back to her home town to spend time with her father in Mystic Lake. She deals with depression and finally figures out that she needs to change. So she completely gets a new look and positive attitude. Which is good because she runs into her old friend from high school, Nick. I cant wait to keep reading and finish this book. I really enjoy how Kristen describes everything with so much detail it makes it so much more interesting.
                                                                    -Abby Linden

CALL OF THE WILD

In the book CALL OF THE WILD Buck the main chactor is a dog and he has a good life he is feed well and is in very good shape. Then his life changes when he gets sold to an owner who beats him for a short time and then is put on a team as a sled dog in the klondike.

At first he battles hunger because he is given the same amount of food as the others but he is much bigger. After he gets used to the food rations the other dogs start to dislike him and start atacking him and steeling his food.

2.)GONE WITH THE WIND

   This is the second part of this book I am blogging about and my third blog post. The last part of the book starts with Scarlett taking a long trip to Alanta but while shes there the yankees take over Atlanta and burn it to the ground. And Scarlett takes charge of rebuilding the city and catches a Yankee theif and takes his life from him. And this whole time Scarlett is living with Ashley's wife and cousin. But by this time in the war Ashley is coming back home. And now I ton of siolders are home in Tara the city she is staying at where Ashley's house is.

  Then one day on her way home a free black man and his white freind attack scarlett on her way home.  But after that the KKK revenges on the behalf of Scarletts attack and ends up the black guys death. Then Rhett a guy she actullys kind of likes asks her to marry him and she quickly say yes. And he bought her gaint mansion and they had another kid named Bonnie. Rhett and Scarletts starts off great happy and all that love stuff that kids dont get. But then Rhett starts getting mad and bitter at Scarlett.

  Then Scarlett then figures out her feelings for Ashley have diminshed to just freind and accepted that. But then one day Ashleys sister starts a rumor. The rumor was Scarlett was having an affair with Ashley.

 Boonie is killed in horse riding accedent and Rhett loses almost losses his mind. The marriage between the two gets even worse and looks like it falling apart. Then Ashley's wife has a miscarriage and grows very ill. Scaurlett hurries to see her inspite of Rhett saying no and there marriage getting worse and worse. And Scarlett promises to look after there first kid and Ashley for her.

  Then she dies and Scarlett relizes that Ashley was just a fantasy for her. And then goes home Rhett left and now she is alone and greiving. She decides to go back to Tara where she wants to regain her strength and try to win back Rhett.

                                                                                         -Jarrett Stallman

3) Wuthering Heights

     I am reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I have just finished the book and so much has happened I don't even know how to begin. Heathcliff gets revenge on Edgar by manipulating the children. He forces young Catherine to marry his son Linton by locking her in a room until they marry. He wants them to get married so all of her possessions, including Thrusscross Grange will be his. While trapped in her room she gets to know Harreton, a boy that works there, and eventually falls in love. Heathcliff soon gets tired of manipulating them and lets her free and dies shortly after. By now the story is in present time when Nelly is telling Mr. Lockwood this story, so he quits his job at Wuthering Heights. Catherine and Harreton get married after Linton dies and they live happily ever after.

      I really liked the ending of the book. All the evil and drama ends right after Heathcliff dies. I really liked how the story started in the past and ended in the future so now the begining of the book makes sense. Another thing I liked was how they started with the love story and triangle of Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar then ended with basically the same story with their children. Overall it was a very good book yet very confusing. Emily Bronte wrote this book to show what lengths people will take just to get revenge, but also to show what your willing to do if your in love.

      The theme of the book is love. Heathcliff loved Catherine and Catherine's daughter Catherine loved Harreton. Also revenge was another theme. Right after Catherine died the whole book was about Heathcliff getting revenge and manipulating his own child. Heathcliff has been my favorite character throughout the whole book because he is so interesting. At first you feel empathy for him and like him and then you hate him. But still you know he isn't terrible because he is doing all this evil stuff out of love.

      "That, however, which you may suppose the most potent to arrest my imagination, is actually the least, for what is not connected with her to me? and what does not recall her? I cannot look down to this floor, but her features are shaped on the flags! In every cloud, in every tree—filling the air at night, and caught by glimpses in every object by day, I am surrounded with her image! The most ordinary faces of men and women—my own features—mock me with a resemblance. The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her!" This is an important quote because it shows that his whole existence was Catherine and now that he has lost her she still is his whole world. Wherever he goes he can still see and feel her presence.

      Now that the book is over I really don't have any questions left, most of them were answered in the end. I just wonder what will happen with Catherine and Harreton now that their married? Also, what will Lockwood do now that he doesn't work at Wuthering Heights?

                                                                                                                  - Tiffany Ryan