Final Post

Book: Divergent

Overall I enjoyed the book. The book kept me on the edge of my seat, combining action with drama to create a reading experience which enticed the reader and kept their interest, even through the rare and not many slow parts. The author also used metaphors and similes to show the reader and take them through the mind of the main character. However, while most aspects of this book were very good, one aspect in particular made the book much more difficult to read. That aspect is that with the metaphors and similes came some language which was just difficult to understand, creating some times where I was unable to visualize what was happening simply because I didn't understand how to compare these two words, and to put down the book in the middle of a chapter or sentence and find the book in a dictionary detracted from my attention to the book, creating a less pleasurable reading experience. Even after saying this, I do believe this was a very good book, and would recommend it to most people looking for action along with an enticing story.

*please note I had this done on the 22nd, but apparently I didn't click publish.

Overall I really did enjoy my reading. It kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing the whole time. Also, the topics were very fascinating and touched upon information that isn't widely talked about due to its controversy. What I liked most about this book was that I was able to learn so much from it. Some of it is fiction, but other parts of it really made me think and ask questions. I liked reading this better than an assigned reading book because I picked it out based on my interests. In the personal reading I was good at identifying the several changing themes that occurred as the story went on. I was also good at tracking how Professor Langdon changed as he uncovered new secrets. I still need to work on identifying literary devices and realizing there significance to the overall theme. I could also work on keeping up with the reading consistently instead of cramming it all at once. This way instead of rushing, I could slow down and enjoy the book. In the end I really found this book interesting and would recommend it to others.

Final Post Ender's Game

I found the book Ender's Game to be confusing. It was somewhat hard to follow with all the characters and terms like "Buggers". Most of the time they didn't explain what these terms mean and it gets even more confusing. I was told it's like The Hunger Games, but I didn't see any similarities. Despite this the book is pretty interesting if you can follow it. If you're intereted in aliens or books about saving eaeth this could be for you.

Final post Lone Survivor

I enjoyed reading the book, Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell even though I am normally not a big reader. At times I can feel like reading is more of a job then something to do during my free time, yet Lone Survivor was different. I enjoyed this book due to the fact that it was written based off an experience giving it a certain type of depth that I usually cannot find. Because this book was based off a true experience I found that it was sometimes hard to stop reading due to the fact that all of the crazy feats talked about were done by a real person. After hearing Marcus's amazing story, I realized that the theme of this book was to really embrace and acknowledge brotherhood because it is deeper then any friendship. The only problem I encountered was time management due to tests and projects. While I was able to finish the book there was definitely nights when I skipped reading in favor of another subject's homework. Next time I hope I can avoid these problems by starting the book earlier on. Overall, I really enjoyed this book due the detail and the story told and appreciated reading it. 

Unbroken Final Post

I really enjoyed reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand because I do not usually read biographies during my free time. It was surprisingly interesting to read a non- fiction book opposed to a fiction book and I liked the fact that the author went to a lot of detail about World War II, not just Louie's life. While the detail could make the story a bit slow at times it was good as a whole. By the amount of detail in the book, I could tell that Hillenbrand had done thorough research. Reading for pleasure was different from reading assigned books because it was easier to focus on the big picture of the book instead of focusing on small details. On the other hand, when reading on my own, I feel like I might have missed small defining details in the story that I would not have overlooked if I was reading an assigned book. I think I tracked the character development well. When looking back on the book, it is clear that Louie started out having no direction in life to having a goal of becoming a successful runner. After World War II, he was left without a goal to focus on because of his injured ankle and he changed from being a tortured war victim to finding himself through religion. I think I need to work on keeping up with the reading or maybe choose a book that is more suspenseful so I want to constantly keep reading. With this being said, I am glad I pushed myself to read something out of my comfort zone even though it took some effort to get through.

If I Stay Final Post

Overall, I believe that this was a very emotional book (especially when I ended up crying in class) This book moved me and has been leading me on a new path of thoughts in my life when things seem to become bad. I realize that things could be worse and I have to hold onto all of the good in my life like friends and family to pull through. When Mia decided to stay, I thought that it was a hard choice for her but all it took was her looking at the good, especially when Adam was by her side begging her to stay. He even wrote a song about her because he had a reason to. In the whole book, Adam talked about how he only wrote songs about things that made him sad, but when he was finally able to write one about Mia, the only person who fully understood him and made him the happiest person he's ever been, Mia woke up in the bed feeling their hands holding. This was one of the first books I've finished in a year or two, since I usually have put other books down because I realized that I did't like them as much as I thought. However, this book I would recommend to anyone, especially those looking for a good love story and one that will make them cry. Honestly, I couldn't have chosen a better book for this project.

If I Stay Mia's Decisions

When I was in the middle of the book, I stopped at the point where Mia figured out that staying is all up to her and herself alone. Mia is a girl who is very fond of her parents and would do anything to stay with her boyfriend Adam. However, if she wakes up then she will be an orphan after the crash killed her parents and little brother. She's going through the ideas of how to stay and leave, her thoughts are what control them. At the times she's thought to herself to give up, her body in the hospital would become fatal. Right now, she has decided that there's no point in living with the idea of her parents being in the grave and that her future wouldn't be much because of her family condition now. She'll be put into foster care for her senior year of high school then go off to college. Or her grandparents will take care of her in that time.  When Adam came to talk to her, she realized how much pain he was in because of her but all she wanted to do was hold her hand. What led her to be able to want to give into letting go was when her grandfather came to her bed. He held her hand and told her it was ok if she let go and died because it was such a hard decision and life ahead of her. Plus, his own son (Mia's father) just passed away from the accident so he would understand. So once she started to give up, her body had to go into the emergency room again in critical condition. Mia's thoughts effect her body's stability and ability to live without her spirit in it. I think that Mia is only looking at the bad when really, she needs to be looking at all of the good that happened to her.

Butter Final Blog

I finished reading Butter and I found it to be a unique book. It was very easy for me to read and it tied up all the loose ends very nicely. Although the book had a sad ending, I was happy to find closure. I was concerned that the author would not explain whether Butter killed himself or decided to keep his life. As the outcome was described I was a little shocked because I thought that he was going to keep his life. As the book progressed, I started to get annoyed with Butter. At first, he was humorous and just a nicer human being, but later on he become obsessed with how many people were checking his suicide page. He didn't seem like he wanted to kill himself, but I think he felt forced into it. I couldn't imagine him being happy after New Years if he decided to keep his life. His so-called friends would have left him and he would have once again been lonely. The entire book I was confused as to why Butter's caring mom kept feeding him so much food. She really cared about Butter but did not even try to fix his weight issues. Could that have been a coping mechanism for herself? All in all, I felt bad for Butter's mom when he killed himself, she must have been heartbroken. The book wrapped up in a weird fashion…with Butter talking to Anna. It made me really uncomfortable. Why would Butter want to kill himself if the girl of his dreams was still on Earth? That got me frustrated. Butter always raved about Anna, but didn't do anything about it. So even though it may seem like I hated the book, I really enjoyed the humor and the ability to relate. It had a real high school like atmosphere to the book, but it only pointed out the negatives. People in this world are better then that and would have alerted the authorities.  This book is one that people should read, but isn't one that is going to win any prizes.

Shutter Island Final Post

Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane, is captivating story overall. With its cliffhangers and plot twists, it is sure to make you grip the edges of the book, wanting more. However, as well written as Shutter Island was, I would not recommend it. For me, certain parts of the book were very slow and was confusing to keep up with- making it hard to concentrate on the story. Also ,the book was not suitable for younger kids to read. Personally, I loved the idea of the book more than the actual story.

Lone Survivor Weston Shanley Final Post

Weston Shanley
12/21/14
English

Overall I found this book a very very great read.  It makes you feel like you are in the middle of Afghanistan fighting along side your Seal brothers.  This read is great for the person who is interested in military events and action packed drama.  My favorite part of the book was just the whole battle scene.  This is where Marcuse's brothers fell ad he kept going it was truly inspirational. Al together great read and I will say that everyone should pick this book up and read it right now.

Jack Hoelzer, final blog post-Lone Survivor

I did enjoy reading the book, Lone survivor, by Marcus Luttrell.  Normally I don’t enjoy books too thoroughly and sometimes I even look at reading as more of a chore than a peaceful pastime but while reading Lone Survivor I felt otherwise.  This book was extremely exciting and it almost made me look forward to doing my homework.  It was hard for me to put the book down sometimes because I was too anxious to find out what would happen next or how Marcus and the rest of the heroic team would get out of their current problem.  Because of the creative and descriptive writing, I felt as though I was there alongside the heroes that were so greatly depicted in the book.  This made it extremely enjoyable to read.  Furthermore, reading for pleasure is a completely different experience that reading an assigned book.  While reading an assigned book I feel completely constrained.  Assigned books take away the freedom of choosing a book and how often or when to read it.  However, with a free reading book I could read it whenever I wanted and I had the freedom to chose the book that I wanted most.  Also, despite this book being a free reading book, I did very well while reading it and I let my mind loose when it came to theme and connections.  I realized that the book was going to be a war heroic of Marcus Luttrell and his team, but as I continued to read, I connected his experience with the stories that my grandfather would always tell me.  The both of them were loved war veterans and they both told a similar story, not in the events but in the theme.  I found that on of the themes of Lone Survivor is to really embrace and cherish brotherhood while it lasts and this is similar to the plenty of stories that my grand father had told me.  I was able to connect Luttrell’s story and those of my grandfather which helped me feel closer to the book than I would have before.  I also did well in terms of identifying literary elements and really appreciating Luttrell’s writing and description of the tiniest details.  Although I did well while reading this book, there were a few things that I need to work on.  The main problem that I had was time management.  I did a good job in the beginning of the project of pacing myself while also reading a good amount each night.  However, when football and homework grew even more vigorous and time consuming, I grew lazy and would skip nights of reading.  This caused me to have to cram in reading toward the end of the project.  I ended up reading for more than three and a half hours over the weekend to finish the book.  This wasn’t such a big deal considering that I enjoy the book, but next time I wish to plan out my reading in a more productive and safe way to prevent cramming at the end.  Overall, I enjoyed the book and this project was somewhat refreshing in terms of having more freedom than usual and picking a good book that I would enjoy.  Lone Survivor is a tremendous book and is incredibly well written.  I would recommend this book to almost all readers because the writing is so descriptive and exciting, however it does get a little gruesome at times and is written mainly for those who enjoy war heroics and patriotic writing.

Final blog by Liam

I enjoyed reading Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.  I find the historical non-fiction genre interesting.  It is important to know about history to better understand the present.  Chasing Lincoln's Killer gave a much more in depth understanding of the events that went into Lincoln  and Secretary Seward's' deaths.  Prior to reading this, I did not know there was a conspiracy to kill all three men, including Vice President Johnson.  I prefer reading the assigned core books, as it keep me on a better track because assignments go along with the chapters.  I find the free reading books more difficult to keep up with.  As the story progressed, I was able to track character development. I needed to make a sheet to assist with the amount of persons in the book.   Additionally, I found the  main idea more easily because the killers wanted revenge for losing the Civil War and because of the issues with slavery.  Next time, I definitely need to be more on top of reading and following a schedule and not waiting until the last minute to finish.

Final Post for Third Rail

I enjoyed reading the book Third Rail because I felt it appeal to my needs as a reader. I need to be hooked in while reading and I feel like the book did this to me. Most times when I finished a chapter I wanted to read more, and more. This does not happen every time I read so it was good for it to happen when I was reading the book. Reading for pleasure was so much nicer than reading for assigned segments as I did not feel the pressure of timetables which was nice. I feel like identifying character development is easy for me to do because that seemed to be the focus of my english class last year reading books like the hobbit and following Bilbos development into a hero. On the flip side I still find it hard to identify the theme of the story as I had a hard time trying to find it in Third Rail. I guess it could be seen as redemption an the need to fix mistakes but the overall darkness in the story made it tricky to follow. All in all I enjoyed the book, The Third Rail and would suggest it to anyone who asked about it.

Lone Survivor Final Update

I really enjoyed reading the book, Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell. It was very interesting to learn about the training he had to go through to become a SEAL and to see what the battle was like through the eyes of one of the soldiers. Reading this for pleasure was much different than reading the assigned books. I was able to read the book when I wanted, rather than when I am told to read it. Also, I found it way easier to get through the book and more enjoyable to read the book without having to analyze quotes. Even though I didn't analyze quotes, I did do a good job of keeping character development and identifying the theme. Also, I was happy that I kept up with the reading by myself. In the future, I think I need to work on making connections to other texts while reading and identifying literary elements while reading. Overall, I really enjoyed reading Lone Survivor and could not put it down. I also really enjoyed reading a book for pleasure rather than an assigned book.

Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green was an excellent book! It was humorous, suspenseful, and sad when following the life of Q trying to find Margo. It made me feel like I was talking to Q, and he was just telling me a story. I don't think it was any different from reading a assigned book. The only difference was that we weren't told exactly how much to read each night. I like being told exactly how much to do, but also don't at the same time. I like the stability of knowing exactly when we are going to end a book, but I also like the freedom we get, and being able to read it for as long as we wanted to with out being told to stop at chapter 16. I feel I did a good job noticing character development when reading. Even time Q would find a clue about where Margo was, he slowly became more powerful and his passion towards finding Margo just grew and grew up to the point to where he would do absolutely anything to find her. I also feel I need to work on keeping up with the reading. The problem with my strategy when reading is that when I pick up the book I absolutely cannot put it down, but when I do put it down, I will not pick it up until I realize I have to finish the book. The book will literally just leave my mind and I won't ever remember to read it again. Its a very confusing cycle. 

The Cuckoos Calling

The main character of the Cuckoos Calling, Comoran Strike, is a man struggling to deal with the stress that is his life. He goes about things in a casual manner and tends to ignore the fact that his too good to be true fiancée has left him. He is practically homeless now and living in his office. He is also investigating the suicide of Lula Landry a work renound supermodel. While investigating this case we begin to learn more and more about Strike, and how he isn't as carefree or oblivious as he says. Strike has proven to be fully involved in this case and goes to many lengths to discover the truth of what actually happened to Lula. In the beginning of the story, Strike seemed to be nothing more than an uncaring and unqualified oaf, who couldn't keep up with his bills. However, as the story continued Strike has proven to be extremely intelligent and has an abundance of random facts at hand. In one part of the story he told his friend/assistant, Robin, that most people tend to use names starting with the letter A when making up a fake name on the spot. This was after she made up a fake name (Annabell) when calling an office. We also learn that Strikes childhood had been anything but stable, his father was a famous musician who was known to have many children with many different women. Strike had an abundance of siblings, who all had different father, and his mother was a drug addict who moved around very often. This could be a probable reason as to why Strike struggles to be put into a stable lifestyle. Even after he left home he went to Afghanistan and ended up losing a limb, he is a private detective and gets engage to in earth shatteringly beautiful woman who admits only went out with him ( Strike will constantly tell us that he looks more like an ox than a man) as a way to punish her ex boyfriend. It is safe to say that Strike is not one for a stable life. Which is shown when he goes on to his sisters sons birthday party. Surrounded by parents and housewives curious about his prosthetic limb Strike isn't one for social pleasentries as he awkwardly tries to be investigated in these conversations. The catalyst for Strike's changes had been when Mr.Bristow, the brother of the deceased Lula Landry, was ready to walk out and find another investigator. That's when   We began to see what makes Strike tick, who he is, what are his goals. It's then he begins to actually try and discover what actually happened to Lula Landry. It's when his true characteristics come out like determination, intelligence, and a need to stimulate the brain. Strike is not your average hero who believes in good triumphs all, he has a more analytical view on life and frankly he isn't anywhere near perfect. Which makes him so much more relatable and easier to understand.

Lone Survivor Update #2

Pgs 75-169

The main character in Lone Survivor, Marcus, is a Navy SEAL who has been giving us the story of his life and training before Operation Redwing, the current mission he is on. In his story of training and how he had to struggle to get through it Marcus changes from a skilled Navy soldier to a member of one of the world's most elite fighting forces, the United States Navy SEALs. When learning the skills of the trade as a special forces operator, Marcus is pushed to his limits by ruthless men who have the job of judging if you can become a Navy SEAL. Through this process, Marcus is forced to complete incredible physical feats on little to no sleep and enormous mental stress. The worst of these    cycles that must be completed is Hell Week. "Students will demonstrate the qualities and personal characteristics of determination, courage, self-sacrifice, teamwork, leadership, and a never-quit attitude, under adverse environmental conditions, fatigue, and stress throughout Hell Week" (130). Hell Week is when the weak get separated from strong, when the instructors see how soldiers react during dangerous situations. This is when it is determined if you could endanger your teammates during a firefight. This cycle determines if you can be a Navy SEAL or should return to the Navy.

11-26 Update

While reading the book, Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell, it is clear that Marcus is writing this book in the perspective of himself as a Navy SEAL. He often reminds the reader of the state-of-mind a Navy SEAL has, and the way a Navy SEAL would deal with a situation. For example, he says, "SEALs react somewhat differently and generally look for a faster solution" (29) to show the differences of a Navy SEAL from everyone else in the world. It is clear that he is very proud of what he accomplished while being a Navy SEAL and has the mindset of one to this day.  Also, I can understand what his values are as a person. He always looks out for the person to his left and right before he thinks of himself, always. He says, "In the SEALs, it's always your teammates. No exceptions" (27). It is also clear that he is a determined person, and will never give up on what he's doing, no matter what the circumstances are, because that is the mindset of a Navy SEAL. I think that the way he writes this book, in the voice of him as a Navy SEAL, will be a major part in this book, and the way I experience it. By writing this book in the voice of a Navy SEAL, I will feel like I am actually there, and I will know exactly what he was thinking and feeling while he was in Iraq as a Navy SEAL. Right now, he is on his way to Afghanistan. He is traveling with a group of strong and fearless Navy SEALs. To him, they are like brothers. He explained his early years of being a Navy SEAL and the types of things he did before Operation Red Wings. One thing he would do was he would sweep the streets during the night and capture terrorist. He explained the mind-set he had while completing those missions and the crazy stuff that went on. So far, Marcus has not changed, but he does have very distinct character. If you had no clue he was a Navy SEAL or what the book was about, you could read two pages and tell that he was a Navy SEAL, or someone in the armed forces, just by the way he talks and his values. So far, I am really enjoying this book and can't wait to read more and get to the part where he actually carries out the operation.

My current understanding of the main charatacter, Pofessor Langdon, is that he's very intelligent and dedicated to his work. As the, DaVinci Code dives deeper into the strange murder of an innocent man, Langdon uses his knowledge to decode hidden messages and symbolism. He's able to so easily figure out the meaning of things that would otherwise completely confuse anyone else. He looks at things differently, and thus knows almost everything about anything. It is clear that he has studied symbolism and conpsiracies for a great deal of time and that he is smarter than most.

    In the beginning of the story, when asked to assess a muder case, Langdon doesn't seem too extatic. He teaches people about symbolism, but he very rarely takes on murders, and events that challenge the political world, and the Catholic Church. These things are so very contreversial, and he knows that not everyone accepts his views. He proceeds to take the case, and he later learns things he had never known before. He learns about things that are hidden from the public. This case makes him even wiser on the things he so loves to study. The reason he is accumulating more knowledge during this case, is that he is being shown things that are very private, and could change overall views of issues in the world today. He is exposed to a world of new knowledge that he wouldv'e never faced if he hadn't taken the case in the first place.

Update of Lone Surviver

Jack Hoelzer
Period 6
11/26/14

    So far in the story, I can see that Marcus is incredibly determined, hard working and will not give up no matter what task stands in his way.  From the begining to the point that I am t now, Marcus had faced so many obstacles and even entered the most brutal military training in the world, yet he fought through the pain and near-death situations.  He has no other ambitions but to serve his nation, protect his country, and become the best Navy Seal he could possibly be.  Wheather it is completeing tasks that are given to him, or getting extra voluntary work in at the hospitals, Marcus puts forth his greates effort nd strives to reach perfection.  At the point where I am now, Marcus is proving to be a great Seal and is a trustworthy partener in battle.  The conditions which they face in the middle east are attrocious and the plentiful laws that restrict their war tactics constantly get in theit way.  Each Seal has to know everything about the laws and regulations of battle, what to do in every possible situation and how to work under pressure and do as you are told.  Marcus emulates each and every one of these characteristics and has proven to be an incredible Navy Seal.  

    In the begining of the book, Marcus was still a very determined young man and was hopefull to become a navy seal some day.  He was ambitious, put in hard work and tried hard, but was not nearly as well educated or aware of war conditions as he is now.  He showed that he was determined in the begining of the book by working with his neighbor, Billy Shelton, to get stronger and bigger in order to prepre for the training.  He worked as hard as he could, completing intense workouts and working for an insane amount of time.  However, inbetween these hard work hours, Marcus had time to go for a leisurely swin with his brother or help around the house.  However, by the point I am at now, Marcus has managed to become more determined, harder working and more educated.  Now, Marcus has vertually no down time and when he isn't finishing his duties in the field, he is putting in extra time at the local hospital to become a better team medic.  Marcus has evolved from being a once ambitious kid to fulfilling his dreams and growing up to be a hard working and determined Navy Seal

Response to Question:

So far in my book, my chapters switches from main character Jefferson, to the other character Donna. Jefferson is a courageous and outgoing on the outside, just is scared and trimmed on the inside. But, he only shows himself like this because he has a crush on Donna. Jefferson is the leader of the tribe. He leads them to the best of his abilities. For example, when the clan arrive at Grand Central, a trading grounds for food, guns, ammo, and lectures for a person like book and cloths. To get the tribe more money to get food and ammo, Jefferson enters a fight. He gets the snot beaten out of him for the better of the tribe. It says, " He head-butts me, and I turn my face just to avoid getting my nose broken, with the result that he hits me on my left eyebrow. I feel the skin split open, and blood start to trickle down into my eyes"(184). Jefferson, although he takes a few good shots, he beats this kid. What he does with his money, he goes and buys what the tribe needs, not what he wants. He wanted a new gun for himself, but he saw how they were struggling, so he gave up the gun, and bought food, water, and ammo for everyone else. Jefferson shows us how a leader should lead, and how to put others in front of himself . He has grown from the kid in the beginning, who's brother was the leader, and he was the kid in the corner, to the leader of a tribe. The other main character in the book is Donna. She was the town nurse when the tribe was still at 'The Village'. But now that they are gone, she is the caring person in the group. She feels that everything should be good in there lives. She takes everything one step at a time. She is pure innocents. For example, after the fight, this little kid they met named Ratso showed them to the only bar left in Manhatten still up and running. Another kid in the tribe by the name of Peter likes to drink, so he buys everyone a round. Being Donna, she has never drinker before. So, when Peter comes back with martins for everyone, she tried it. She said, " Gross. Is this what it's support to be like?"(191). Donna had no idea what this drink is support to taste like. But, when she tried it, because she always wants to try new things, she ends up hating it. She has grown from a girl who wanted to stay in her room all day and read, to a girl who never wants to be locked up again in her room.

Shutter Island- Character Changes

Shutter Island-Teddy Daniels Character Change

In my semester reading book, Shutter Island, we meet a U.S. marshal named Teddy Daniels. He is described to be tall, good looking, and very aggressive in his manner when he is aggravated. A distinct detail about him is that he frequently gets head-splitting migraines that pretty much immobilize him until he either passes out from the pain, or takes a large amount of pills to help ease the pain. The cause of these migraines seem to be from the constant pressure he and others around him put onto himself, but mostly from the tragic death of his wife that occurred three years prior.

In the beginning of the story, Teddy constantly relates every movement of the day to something Dolores used to do. He blames himself for her death because while he was at work, their apartment complex caught on fire from a pyromaniac's flame, and killed her. Later in the book, we find out the name of the man, which leads to Teddy traveling to Shutter Island, where the criminal is locked up to be experimented on.

As time progresses, Teddy begins to have dreams about Dolores, that turn into nightmares. She is always being embraced by her husband when she says that it's time to let her go and for him to wake up. He is deeply in love with Dolores and refuses to let go of her. This is a metaphor because he cannot actually feel her in the flesh, but rather mentally, he doesn't want to let go. For him, this would mean he has given up on her and doesn't love her anymore. Teddy is terrified of losing their connection as he comments on forgetting small things about her, such as her scent, how she said certain words, and so on.

Divergent Update for Nov. 26, 2014

Throughout the story so far, the main character, Beatrice, has undergone many minor transformations as the events of the story have unfolded. At this point in the story, the main character has had to choose between 4 to 5 different factions, each one representing a different kind of person, who all share the same character traits. She chose to stray from her home "faction" and went to a faction known as "dauntless", so named because they have no fear and are expected to be able to act quickly, while still regarding their safety. This is a transformation as she thought she was going to stay in her original faction for her life, much like her mother and father, and that is what her father expected her to do, even though she seemed unhappy in the faction. By choosing to join the dauntless, she went against what her mother had thought, something she had never done before. After this, she had to go through the dauntless initiation which involves jumping on and off of a moving train, jumping down into the capital of the dauntless and surviving the training, which includes shooting, and hand-to-hand combat so far. The first step, which was to shoot a gun, was something completely new to her as she had never even held a gun before because her faction felt that guns were only used for personal gain, which was against its morals. Even so, she knew that her mother and father would not approve of her holding a gun, let alone shooting it. Next came the fighting in hand to hand combat, which again she was never allowed to do as it was still considered to be done only for personal gain. She noticed the same feelings of knowing her mother and father would not approve of what she is doing, and she even started to miss home for a little bit, and kept thinking back to her mother and father a lot, especially the first couple of nights when she was trying to get to sleep. However, through the friends she makes from the other factions who chose to switch to dauntless, she develops less of a longing for home, and has become better at living in the moment, with the fact that she is for the first time, away from her home and the restrictions that accompany that. I think the biggest transformation was caused by her friends taking her to get rid of the clothes she was given from her old faction, which were very conservative, and buying her new clothes that make her more "noticeable". By doing this, the friends are cutting her off from something from her old faction, which is helping her change and assimilate into the new one. Also, she changes her name from Beatrice to Tris, once again something which cuts off her connection to her home. 

In the book Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell you can see the change happening from the vary beginning.  From the very beginning Marcus who is the main charicter is in his perspective of when he was a Navy Seal.  This is going to be critical for the whole book, because you get to actually be there when the events are unfolding.  Of course not physically but mentally.  He is beginning his tour in Iraq and narrating himself as he does so.  He has been a Seal for quite some time now with his brother Morgan.  He has a closly knit group of fearless men he who are completing his missions with.   All of them have been fighting for years togather.  The story begain when they were on there flight over to an Iraq air strip in there "flying wearhouse" as they called it but in all reality it was just a big military plane.  The first changes you see is when he is reflecting back to his childhood.  His brother morgan is a little better than he is it seems at everything.  Weather it be swimmjng running whatever. But when he is on this plane he seems really confidint, almost non submisive to anyone.  I think that the catalist for this was when they were in highschool.  He and his brother morgan both new that they wanted to be Seals because of there family legasy, so they decited to meet and train with a former Seal.  This man really hardend Marcus and tought him to dig deep and beleve in himself.

- Weston S

Paper Towns: Q and his new attitude

I am almost halfway through Paper Towns by John Green and Q has changed drasticaly compared to the beginning. At the start of the book, Q is kind of quiet and shy. The thought of skipping school was completly ridiculous to old Q. But after Margo makes him go out for a night on the town and for her to never return, Q lets himself crawl out of his shell. He is constantly wondering about Margo, and he needs to find her. Q quickly becomes this rebelious kid who decides to skip school and drive an hour away from their hometown, to this abandoned mall where Margo said she was. He stopped being this small, weak science kid and because a tough, rebelious, can-break-doors-down-with-his-fist kid. Ever since Margo popped into Q's life, he completly changed. He became more passionate in life after that night with Margo. Before it, he was focused mainly on school and didn't really have a lot of fun in his life, but now he is searching for an adventure. And, of course, Margo.

While reading the book, Mexican White boy, by Matt De La Pena. We notice that the main character Danny has changed a lot over the time that he has been in National City. We first start off seeing that Danny is a solitary, lonely, and a outcast for the usual type of people that are found in the slums of the  city. To get to know Danny first you need to know the type of people from national city and how they act. In National City, most of the people in national city are usually poor, urban, and very hard working. However, some of the people come from these types of backgrounds that leads them to not be economically stable. Danny however,  comes from a more wealthy, well off town where he could wear vans, kakis, and a button down shirt and look like everybody else. 

Another thing that leads Danny to become more open in National City is the affect that his friends have no him. One example is his best friend Uno, at first, Uno beats up Danny due to problems in a baseball game. However, Uno sees how Danny can pitch and that brings the two together.   

Gone Girl

          In Gone Girl, there are two main characters, Nick and Amy. The story is told from both of thier points of view and as Nick investigates the sudden dissaparence of Amy, we read excepts from Amy's diary from further back-- leading up to her dissaparence. By telling the story this way, we (the reader) solve the mystery with both the direct clues (Nick's story,) and the internal clues (Amy's diary.) By exploring how Nick copes with his wife's absence, and seeing how Amy felt during this marrige, we see both of the main character's at their best and worst, learning a lot about them.
          NICK: We were introudeced to him as a shy, relatable, innocent person. But as I read on, I notice how he is not who you keep thinking he is/wanting him to be. Nick is cheating on Amy, lying to the poliece, and manipuliting his family. The reader keeps assuming that Nick is innocent, the perfect husband, and the way the story is told, you excuse everything he does by holding onto the character you were first introduced to. I began thinking that there was no way Nick could be a suspect, but now he is high on my list.
          AMY: Amy is introduced in many different ways, her real personality is the actual mystery of the book. She is seen as the bitch, the perfect girl, the mess, the innocent victim, and the not innocent victim. Amy is an enigima and through her diary entries, we have no way of getting any clues about her dissaparence at all. She is infatuated with her love for nick in once instance, and extermley unhappy with her marrige the next.
          There are still many mysteries in my book, and the plot based one is the least important. While the poliece search for clues about Amy going missing, the reader serches for clues about who Amy actually is. While the poleiece search for clues to help Nick, the reader searches for clues about Nick. I am excited to keep reading to solve the many questions I have in Gone Girl.

Semester Reading 11-26 Update

After reading multiple chapters in the novel, The Third Rail, I can understand Harkness even more now. He is even more troubled by his past as I believed before, and as the book has progressed, he seems to not have the ability to let go of those mistakes. He is constantly getting into trouble and getting drunk which is only hurting him in the present. He thinks this will get him to forget the mistakes he made in the past but this is clearly not true. People are taking advantage of him in his poor mental state as they did things like steal his gun or other such hooligans. It seems he really has made no change since prior to the beginning of the book when he made that huge mistake as a cop. This would be seen as the only catalyst but it isn't really even in the book. Hopefully he is able to change in move on later in the story.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand- 11/26/14

Currently, the main character, Louis, is struggling with the danger that comes with war because he has just been deployed to Hawaii as an Air Force bomber. He has witnessed many close friends die in planes and realized the danger that comes with flying these planes. Although, he is eager to support America, he also fears he will not return home. When the story began, Louis was only a child growing up in a small town in California. He was mischievous and could be caught stealing food from various neighbors and shops around town. Eventually, he became known for his fast getaways and numerous heists. Meanwhile, Louis was also doing poorly in school and did not have many friends that were good influences on him. When his brother discovered he had a talent for running, it completely transformed Louis' life. He began focusing on excelling on the track instead of stealing from his neighbors. His determination on the track transferred to school were he improved his grades and became quite popular among his classmates. Louis' brother refocussing Louis' attention to running gave him a purpose and made him want to work harder in all aspects of his life.

       Jimmy Stanley

       Third Rail

       11/26/014

          So far, I have had the opportunity to explore the totally unoriginal world of crime-drama "Third Rail." The main character is named Harkness, and he is not a good person. He was once a beloved cop success story, until he made a huge mistake that ruined his life. Now he has lost his gun because he got drunk and can't remember where he lost it, and a new group of drug lords in town are using the gun against him to do things.

           Since the beginning of the story, Harkness was like an arrogant and reckless lying cop with a knack for finding hidden stuff. The thing is, Harkness is no hero, he is an idiot. But his great eyes help him have the talent of busting drug raids and stuff. Otherwise, he is just another dumb cop. Throughout the story, I have not seen any changes in the character. My understanding is that he does not care about anyone else, he just wants to look good on paper, and have a good reputation. 

           I do not think the author did a good job trying to make a likable character, so that is my take SO FAR on Harkness. He may mature once he finds his gun, so this is absolutely not permanent. 

Enders game through Chapter 10

I have been reading Ender's Game over the last few weeks. I have noticed the main character Ender. He started out very sad and ungreatful. He was chosen for his powers to be used to fight buggers. He's being treated terribly and school is boring him. He meets Peter and they become enemies. Peter is very mean to Ender even though Ender approaches him nicely. After being bullied and getting in fights he makes a friend named Graff. Graff admires Ender's intelligence.bLater in the book he gains respect by showcasing his skill. He is put in charge of a bad army. Although they finally gave him respect they are not making it any easier on him. He is happy but will soon be overwhelmed because he has a bad army. Being a commander is a hard job although Ender has proved ready. At the beggining he was ashamed of his extrodinary abilities but now he is greatful and always uses them to his advantage.

Update on Semester Reading

At this point, some of you have finished several books while others have finished a few chapters.  It's time to step up the reading, as you will need to be finished reading your book on December 16th.  In light of that, we will be reading today and tomorrow and one day a week up until the Holiday Break in December.  Each week, you will also have a blog post to think about what is happening in your novel to help you prepare for the final assignment.  

This week’s question:  What understanding do you have of the main character so far?  Who is s/he when the story began?  What changes in character have occurred?  What have been the catalysts for these changes so far? 

Moving forward, your blog posts will be assessed using the following rubric:

95+	85+	75+	65+	55+
·       Insightful and perceptive response addresses the question ·       Examples and details from the text strongly support purpose ·       Language is highly effective and has an engaging tone ·       No errors are present in grammar, usage or mechanics	·       Completely addresses the question ·       Examples and details from the text fully support purpose ·       Language is effective and has an appropriate tone ·       Minor errors in SWE don’t distract the reader	·     Broad and generalized response to the question ·     Some examples and/or details may be used or may be superficially related to purpose ·     Language is inconsistent in its effectiveness ·     Errors are present and may obscure meaning	·     Vague response or oversimplified response to the question ·     Limited to no examples or details used  or are disconnected from purpose ·     Language is mostly ineffective ·     Errors obscure meaning	·     Response does not answer the question ·     No examples or details are used in response ·     Errors prevent the communication of ideas ·     Grammatical errors prohibit communication of ideas

Thirteen reasons why-ending

I recently finished reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I had originally chosen this book because it was recommended by a friend, and I'm glad I chose to follow that recommendation. Though I had expected a different genre based on what I knew of the book, I thouroughly enjoyed this mystery novel. The book mostly centers around the life of Hannah Baker, a suicidal teen who died a few weeks previously to when the novel takes place. She makes a series of thirteen tapes, each mainly focusing on a specific person's impact on her life, or, as she likes to call them, her thirteen reasons for taking her own life. The narrator, Adam, is surprised when these tapes arrive on his forested, as he has no idea what he could have done to make it onto those tapes. Hannah's sadistic attitude in tormenting her "reasons" becomes clear when she refrains from telling each them where they occur in the tapes, forcing them to listen through until they reach their own story. Each, of course, hopes they are not reason thirteen, the person Hannah ultimately blames for her death. Hannah keeps Adam and the reader guessing throughout the novel, raising many chilling questions. Where does he appear in the tapes? What could he have done to lead Hannah to this? And who is "lucky number thirteen"? Though clues are included to help lead the reader toward the answers of these questions, the true ending will ultimately take you by surprise. I would recommend anyone who enjoys a good mystery to read this book, and engine else who just likes to read, as it is one of the most well-portrayed young adult novels out there.

In my semester reading book, The Cuckoos Calling by Robert Galbraith. The protagonist begins to interview people who claimed to be close with Lula Landry, the late model. He learns more about her struggles with drugs, depression, and sketchy on-again, off-again ex-boyfriend. While learning more about the late models life, Strike struggles to deal with his own. Death threats from an old client, being almost homeless, and his whole family thinking he is still engaged to the mysterious Charlotte who we don't know much about. Except for the fact that she is incredibly beautiful whereas Strike is decidedly not. Which makes most people wonder, even Strike himself, what he's doing (was doing) with a girl like Charlotte. Strike also has a partner in the investigation, Robin, who was just recently engaged and is currently interviewing for other jobs, but seems very content with being an assistant to Strike and helping solve cases. She seems to be struggling with her only problems at home as her fiancé disregards her job as silly feeling she should find a more stable job, whereas Robin is convinced she will make a difference and perhaps go on an adventure working with Strike.

The Cuckoos Calling

I chose the book the Cuckoos Calling by Robert Galbraith. A crime novel concerning the sudden suicide of infamous fashion model Lula Landry. However, Lula's brother, John Bristow, is convinced that foul play was involved and that his sister's death was not in fact a suicide. Strike is now on the case, although he is fully convinced that Lula did commit suicide, he continues to investigate to try and prove Bristow wrong. However, Strike begins to discover more than he originally thought as the investigation continues. I chose this book because I'm very interested in crime novels and mysteries and the protagonist is not your typical hero, he is a grey character feeling that he should investigate Lula's death not because of some sense of justice but more of a way to get back into the game and get away from the life he is struggling to deal with after losing his leg in Afghanistan and the sudden break up with his fiancee.

Lone Survivor Update pages 1-194

    So far in the book, Lone Survivor, we have been introduced to the struggles of being part of the US Navy and all that it intails.  Marcus takes us through his journey in training to be a Navy SEAL and it sounds nearly impossible to do the things that he did.  As a kid, marcus knew that he wanted to be part of the Navy Seals and was influenced by his father and a different man in his town, Billy Shelton.  Billy Shelton was previously a Navy Seal and now he spends his days training young boys in Texas to prepare for the Navy Seals camp.  Marcus and his brother spent a huge amount of time working out, running and going through hell in order to reach the physical shape that they had to for the Navy Seals.  After a while of training from the local, Billy Shelton, Marcus thought that it was time to really enter the Navy.  Marcus entered the Navy Seals training camps which are necessary in order to become a Seal. While at the Seals training in Michigan then Virginia, Marcus sees that his hard work and training has paid off.  While others were struggling, puking and hitting wall after wall of intimidation and thoughts of giving up, Marcus was able to stay focused and complete the tasks at hand.  Marcus is a fighter and continues to attack the rigerous training and problems that they face in the trainig camps.  The training that the Seals go through, both physical and educational, are almost inhumane in my opinion.  These men face problem after problem, and barely have any brakes inbetween thier intense training.  This inhumanity is made visible when the team enters Hell Week.  Hell Week in infamous for being the hardest and most vigerous training sequence in America and possible the wold.  The training Seals had to go a week, with less that 12 hours of sleep while facing terrible tasks.  Men were dropping out and quiting left and right.  The tasks that they faced were brutla and as it says in the name, resembles hell.  Marcus continued to fight and somehow managed to hold on and fight through it.  Marcus made it through and finally became a US Navy Seal.

Will Conley
10/23/14
The Young World

        So far in my book, there has been a virus that has caused all the people who are 18 years old or older to die out. Kids run wild for a little while, then starts to group up and create clans. This is about the Washington Square clan and their adventure. The genuis of the group, Brainbox, feels that if the clan goes to a National Museam of History, he will be able to figure out a cure. So, Jefferson, the leader of the clan, and a group of the clan members venture of to the library. On the way, the encounter a rival gang, and get into a shoutout in the street. To take cover, they take refuge in the library. They split up into two groups. One to protect their stuff and their car from the rival gang, and one to go into the library to help Brainbox. As they venture deeper into the library, they are attacked by the gang that lives in the library. This gang has created their own religion that values knowledge, so, becuase Jefferson doesn't care for knoledge that much, he isn't welcomed. But, because Brainbox was with them, they were released and sent back out into the world. Now, at this point, they are in the trading grounds of Manhatten. They are trying to buy more bullets and food to survive, but real money isnt accepted here. They have created their own currency, and that is all they can use. To get money fast, Jefferson and a member of the group, Seethrough, have to fight.

The Third Rail October Update

10-23-14

This is my first update while reading the book the third rail And we are just being introduced to the main character harkness who seems to be an old cop who failed at his job a while back which resulted   In the failed attempt at solving a murder. Even a year later he is still very messed by his past failures and they continue to haunt him in the beginning of the story. I hope to continue this book and will keep you updated in the next entry.

Shutter Island

In my semester reading book, Shutter Island, U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner, Chuck Aule, are assigned a mission to go to Ashecliffe Hospital and find a missing patient, a murderess named Rachel Solando. Rachel is at Ashecliffe because months prior to her arrival, she took her children outside to the pond near their house and drowned them. She believes that her children are still alive and waiting for her- one of the possible reasons she escaped. As of right now, Teddy and Chuck are in a meeting to see if a young doctor will be allowed to be funded to test the patients.

Update one

I deicded to change to the book "Butter" by Erin Jade Lange. I did this because after doing some resarch into Butter the story seemed more intresting to me. Anyways, I started reading the book and got to page twenty. The story starts off with a morbidly obese teenager, Butter, trying to impress a girl through an anymous messaging sitr. They have been talking for several months now, but Butter fears meeting her will ruin their relationship. Butter also has to deal with the pressures of his mom and dad. His dad does not talk to Butter anymore and his mom tries to discretly change his diet, so Butter will lose weight. Because of all his social pressures, Butter is planning on videotaping his suicide on New Years Eve. He will attempt to kill himself by eating himself to death. The book has been very intresting thusfar and has opened my eyes on the pressures he faces. I am intrested to see if Butter actually goes through with his plan to kill himself. Personally, I do not think he will seeing how much he has to lose like a loving family and a girl of his dreams.  I plan on continuing reading this book and look forward to the adventure!

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand- 10/23/14

I am currently at the end of part one of this book. It is very captivating so far. I like how the author goes into detailed description of Louie Zamperini's childhood because it creates a better understanding of the book. So far, Louie has discovered his talent for running and qualified for the 1636 Olympics in Germany. It is also interesting that the writer describes every second of Louie's races like she was there in person. When Louie arrives in Germany, Hillenbrand mentions German's attitude towards Hitler. I think she does this to foreshadow Louie's role in World War II. Overall, the book is great and I can't wait to keep reading.

The DaVinci Code

I switched my other book out for The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. I switched books because this book is about some of the same things the other one is, but not as complex. It's a book about conspiracies and how a lot of so-called coinsidences seem to eventually connect to something in the world. I've already seen the movie for this book, which I loved! So far I'm on the fourth chapter of this book. The main character, Professor Langdon, is asked by the police to help investigate the murder of Jacques Sauniere, because the murder has to do with symbolsim, an area that Langdon excels in. He's also asked to help because he was supposed to meet with Jacques Sauniere before he was murdered. I already know what happens, but I'm excited to see how it plays out in the book!

Weston Shanley
10/23/14

I choose "lone survivor",  we start to see some intreating events unfolding.  During the firts 3 chapters he talks about his home life and what its like.  He also talks about him self who he really is and how he got to where he is.  He also has some intreating quotes.  He uses repition alot to show what he wants to say but hes then says just kidding.  I plan on reading this book because it has captured my intrest since the first page.

So far third rail by Rory Flynn is one of the greatest novels operate in human history it's an Eddie Harkness novel so good and I love it so good and I can't even tell you right now I mean like as I read the book it's a book and it's like it's nothing like breaking bad like she said but I still made him so so far I'm really enjoying the novel

Paper Towns Update Leila Koochek

I am about 10 chapters into my book Paper Towns and it has gotten very intense. Margo and Q spend the night together, sending revenge towards every person that was involved with Margo and her now ex boyfriend. Quentin ends up falling deeper in love with Margo by the end of the night. Once the tasks had been completed, Margo says to Q, "I will miss hanging out with you." (62). Q is confused as to why she will miss him, he thinks that they will be friends at school after this. The next day at school, Margo doesn't show up. Q doesn't think much about why she wasn't there, but she doesn't show up the next day either. It turns out, Margo has ran away. Her parents say that she has done this before and that she 'leaves clues' around their house as to where she is. Q decides to find her with his friends, and a new adventure begins.

matthew de palo

I am still on the first few chapters of  Gone Girl and nothing has really happened yet other than a very long introduction to the main character's life. It is a little bit sad and gives you a glimpse of the bland world that Nick has taken his Manhattan wife to and forced her to adjust too. I can predict that the wife is going to do something drastic soon in the book because she is very unhappy living in a world she did not chose to live in. The most recent thing that happened was Nick arrived home and his wife was missing, all the furniture in his house upside down. While I debated changing my book, this made me want to keep reading and see what happens. So far I sort of like my book but I think that it is going to get better.

Liam Blair Book review

Liam Blair

I choose the book Chasing Lincoln's Killer because I thought it would be something I am interested in. This book is a story about how JWBooth killed the president. It is a very good book. I am up to the part where Booth is planing to kill the president. For the part I have read (ch1-ch6) it is a very good book.

Lone survivor update - graham Jameson

So far in the lone survivor, I have learned a lot about Marcus and his five members of his unit. He describes what it is like to be a Navy SEAL and the mentality of a Navy SEAL. Marcus had a lot of interesting things to say about never giving up and always believing that you are still in the fight. Right now, he and his unit are in a C-130 Hercules going to Afganistan. The beginning of the book has really hooked me and I am eager to read more of the book. Usually when I am really interested in a book only after the first chapter, the book turns out to be really good. I have heard from other people that have read lone survivor that it is a great book. Marcus and Mikey have a strong bond are like brothers. They crack each other up and share the feeling of not being able to sleep if under the slightest amount of pressure. I plan on to continue reading this book and hope it will be a great book.

If I Stay

Cuurently I am almost half way through this book. At first it moved along slowly but it is starting to get better as Mia shares more and more of her life and what's going on with her being in the ICU. Adam has finally gotten to the hospital and is refusing to not be allowed to see her since as her boyfriend he isn't immediate family, so Mia's friend Kim and him are trying to dress up as interns or doctors to get away with seeing her. Mia has relized that staying is completely on her decision. It ll depends on her which is a decision she can't make anytime soon with the thought of no parents and family drama now going on throughout the hospital. I wonder what decision she is going to make and how it will impact her family.