Looking For Alaska Entry Four

                From all the books on the list, I chose Looking for Alaska because John Green always has something very unexpected in his books. I also saw the movie for The Fault in Our Stars over the summer and loved it, so I figured his other books may be similar. I also liked his writing style. Instead of using chapters like every other book, he uses “one hundred days before” or “one hundred days after.” This built up suspense leading to the climax which was a total surprise. Also, it showed how all the characters acted so many days after. A connection I saw between myself and the novel after reading was questioning why Alaska’s death happened, just like Pudge and the Colonel. The boys found evidence supporting whether it was suicide or an accident. Also I wonder what would be different if the boys would have stopped her from going out so late and they feel the same way. Pudge and Alaska’s relationship could have gone further as well as building more memories with each other. The connection is nobody will ever know what happened for sure.

                I recommend this book to anybody who likes solving mysteries. If you like to pick your own ending to novels, then this book is for you! It is your decision as to why Alaska went out after several drinks and if hitting the police car on the high way was an accident or suicide. The mystery of not knowing Alaska’s death is what makes this book so unique. When leaving at the spur of the moment for something that probably could’ve waited until the next day makes me think that it was suicide by certain clues also show an accident. Looking for Alaska has several twists not only related to Alaska’s car accident and will keep you questioning what will happen next.

Looking For Alaska Entry Three

As I have began to read further into Looking for Alaska by John Green I am starting to see the action unfold. This book is much more than just a love story between two characters. The drama involved in this novel is always around Alaska, the beautiful girl who is always getting herself into trouble. One day Alaska goes out onto the highway late at night after several drinks and doesn’t return. Pudge and the Colonel were curious as to what had happened to her considering she wasn’t in class the next day. The Eagle gives the awful news to the class that Alaska was killed in a car accident that night. “For a moment, it was so quiet that you could hear the sound of not-breathing, the vacuum created by 190 students shocked out of air. I thought: It’s all my fault. I thought: I don’t feel very good. I thought: I’m going to throw up.”

This section hooked me as a reader because you can literally feel sorrow that filled the room after such horrifying news was given. Nobody knew what to say or do except question what happened and Pudge and the Colonel weren’t even certain of the situation. This made them wonder was it something they did. Or did it relate to Jake, Alaska’s boyfriend?  The boys as well as some of Alaska’s friends did all they could do investigate what could of happened. Every clue they found did not tell them whether it was suicide or just an accident. Throughout the rest of the book they have this horrible gut feeling in them as to why they didn’t stop her or why this situation could wait. Pudge admits that he was beginning to fall in love with her and everything he seems to do relate back to old memories he shared with Alaska which haunt him forever.

Tulips were found in the passenger seat of Alaska’s car. Nobody knows if the flowers were for Jake or for her mom’s grave.

Looking For Alaska Entry Two

Throughout the story I am beginning to notice that Pudge’s character is the most dynamic. At the start of the book Pudge just went along with everybody else did and didn’t really make decisions for himself. He never stood up for himself either.  All Pudge wants is to be accepted at Culver Creek and make new friends. Unfortunately, Colonel is the opposite. He has plenty of friends who are always getting into trouble. Colonel is more of a static character because it seems like all he does in the story is go out and party with friends. He hasn’t had any major changes yet because he has gone to this boarding school for a long time; while Pudge is brand new to the boarding school setting. I also feel like Alaska is used to the setting but I see a major change that would occur later on in the story. Her charming look insures she has many friends to be around. Alaska also wants to learn more about Pudge since their first date went so well.

A common theme that is beginning to appear is One must choose their friends wisely because many consequences may occur with the wrong people. For example Pudge was duct taped and thrown into a river by a group of boys. He tried to speak up for himself but it didn’t matter, it was too late. These boys were all of Colonel’s friends and thinks he was definitely behind all of it. When he asked him Colonel said that it happens to all the new kids. This leaves Pudge confused because if he knew they were planning that why wouldn’t he warn him or even stop the boys from doing it. Instead of using chapters in-between days, John Green uses the number of days before, “one hundred thirty-six days before.” This makes the book interesting because he doesn’t tell you what this event that they are counting down to is.

Looking For Alaska Entry One

I started the book Looking For Alaska by John Green and I am excited to read more. This book is about a boy named Miles who goes off to boarding school in Culver Creek and he meets some pretty interesting people throughout his journey. Miles is shy, tall and skinny, and somewhat nerdy. However his roommate Chip (Colonel) is the total opposite. Throughout the book Chip calls Miles “Pudge” for his lanky body. Down the hall from these boys is the beautiful Alaska. Colonel introduces Pudge to her and he automatically fell in love with what he saw. Alaska and Pudge went out for one night and they learned more about each other and the common love they share for history. So far the major conflict in the story is Miles’ struggle to make new friends at school. Everyone has been picking on him because he is the “new kid” who seems unpopular.

I predict that later on in the book Alaska and Pudge will date and Colonel will be jealous because he has known her longer. Alaska seems to be very troublesome and I can see them making bad choices together which could lead to them getting kicked out of school. I also predict that something tragic will happen to Alaska or Pudge near the end of the story because John Green’s books never seem to end happily. One question I have is Why did Miles’ parents send him to boarding school? Did he do something that maybe got him kicked out of his old school? Lastly, this book has so far reminded me of the movie Pitch Perfect. They both have a new kid at school who always is getting picked on and have a harder time making new friends without staying out of trouble.

Most important line

This week I read more in the Hugar Games and I am really starting to see the character's personallity unfold. All of a sudden Peeta is there for Katniss and in the beginning it seemed like he never wanted to be with her. They are helping each other out by taking sleeping shifts and trying to fix each others health. At this point in the game everybody left is physically and mentally exhausted. They are always thinking because they don't know when the next twist that the game makers create will come. Near the middle of the story Peeta is injured and Katniss does all she can to take care of him. Peeta is greatful that she is helping but it was hard to understand if he really liked her back. Considering that there is not many people left, I believe that it is important for them to stay togeteher because two is always better than one. If somebody is alone there is a good chance that they will have a harder time because they have nobody there to support them. In the end, I see Katniss and Peeta coming together as one, and bringing home the victory to District twelve!

While reading, I have found an important quote that shows Katniss and Peeta are truly falling in love. At this point in the story they are talking about their future if they make it out of the arena. "Our lips neither burning with fever or icy cold. This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest." This shows that even though there were hints earlier on in the story that Katniss was falling for Peeta she truly feels it now. The way the author talks about the temperature of how their kiss felt lets you kow that it was just right. Katniss says she wants another because she loves the feeling inside she gets. It is amazing to see how far the pair of them have came from the beginning. From complete strangers to star-crossed lovers. They alaways have each others back from now on and I feel like since their relationship grew stronger the will be unstoppable in the end.

Author's Tone

I have started reading farther into The Hungar Games and I have really started to see the love Katniss and Peeta actually have for each other. Peeta decides to share that he has like Katniss ever since kindergarten. It all started when his dad had a crush on Katniss's mom. As time went on, Katniss was more and in love with Gail and she didn't really know who Peeta was, besides the guy who worked at the bakery. Peeta believed that it was truly luck that his name was drawn at the ceremony and Katniss volunteered instead for her sister. I think that this is strange that he has liked her for so long because in the beginning he was really awkward about getting to know Katniss, he didn't even want to train with her at one point in the story. Also if they would have felt this love for each other in the beginning, they would have been much stronger together later on in the games. As the games are coming closer to an end, there is a higher chance that one of them will go and the other one will be heartbroken.

I have also realized that the tone of the story is lighthearted but fearful at the same time. Katniss and Peeta are constantly living in fear wondering if their is a plot for one of them to be killed, but the way Katniss and Peeta interact with each other makes you feel lighthearted because you know that they are there for each other. For example in the book it says, "And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don't want him to die. And it's not about the sponsors. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread." When the author keeps repeating the word "and" and the beginning of every sentence shows that there are so many reasons why Katniss would be totally alone without him. All the times they spent together trying to save each other during the games would go away and she didn't want to risk losing that. The author does a good job of expressing two types of tone while still keeping a storyline throughout the book.

Blog reflection

As I am analyzing my voice in the blogs I have posted, I have noticed that I seem to make many predictions about what is to come and sometimes asking questions near the end of the blog. Some specific phrases I use to show my voice as a writer is when I said “I have realized throughout the story Katniss and Peeta’s love may only be for crowd appeal.” This shows that I am expressing my opinion about their feelings towards each other. I have seen many examples throughout the story to prove that this is true. Such as during the games when they pretended to care for each other so they can get sponsers to help them further on in the game. Another example where my voice is showed in this blog is where it says, “Throughout the story, Peeta gets harder and harder to read. Such as being awkward on the way to the games, wanting to train alone, being in an alliance with other people, and never being there for Katniss when she is in danger.” My voice is showed by analyzing Peeta’s character and how it affects Katniss during the story. By saying that Peeta is hard to read I am saying that his personality seems to change depending on who he is around. This makes him difficult to understand because you never know what he could do. These words and phrases show that my writing personality is more predicting what will happen in the future and how their choices and decisions now can affect them later.

            Another way I have enhanced my writing in my blog posts is by adding diction and syntax. An example of Diction in this post is where it says, “I remember the importance of sustaining two star-crossed lover routine and I lean over and give Peeta a long lingering kiss.” Words such as long lingering and star-crossed really let you know Katniss’s feelings towards Peeta. Even if you don’t know how Peeta is feeling about the situation, it makes it much easier to understand what kind of person Katniss is. She believes that it is so important to stay together to get things accomplished. Also, an example of syntax I used in this post is, “Unfortunately, Peeta was back in the cave resting while Katniss was almost being killed.” By starting off the sentence with unfortunately, I am setting the tone for what is to come. If I wouldn’t of started out with that, you would never know how my feelings toward their relationship. My voice is used by analyzing characterization toward the characters and also by predicting how important decisions made now can greatly affect their life together later.

Krista Ramsey "Raising kids to embrace the world, then they do"

This article has to do with parents being proud of their child as they move out and start their real life far away. I thought that one of the best lines written was when it says, "On our best days, we silently congratulate ourselves for raising children who really were ready for the world. On our worst, we want to clarify that we meant the world within a two-hour drive of us." This line is well written because it compares the good and the bad in this situation. It is also easy to relate to for parents because they all feel this way when they see their kid moving on successfully in life. Also, this line uses commas to separate the "best days" and the "worst days" with their reasons afterwards. Krista does this so that the reader understands why letting your child move in the world on their own will really make you miss them. Also, diction used in this line would be "silently" and "congratulate." These words help figure out what this article is really about. She uses silently because nobody is no longer there to tell your kid, so you tell yourself how raising that kid has impacted your life.

From reading three articles from Krista Ramsey, I can tell that she feels strongly for every topic she has written about. Her opinion is expressed in every article with many reasons supporting it. I can also tell that she can probably relate to every aricle because of how well it is written. If I could ask her quetions about her career of writing, they would be; How long have you been writing for? How do you get ideas for these articles? When did you know you wanted to become a writer?

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/03/06/krista-ramsey-young-adults/6144909/

Katniss and Peeta

As I have started reading further into the Hungar Games, I have noticed several changes from the beginning to now. Things such as how Katniss and Peeta get along and the time they have spent together helping one another. I have seen that Katniss cares deeply for Peeta and wants nothing to ever happen to him. She gives him all the motivation she can to make sure they are the final two standing. In this chapter the most I could tell the connection was even deeper than it usually was. Katniss is still trying to fix all of Peeta's cuts and bruises so they are ready to go for the rest of the game but unfortunately they keep getting worse. She tries to help him by feeding him berries that she found by the river. These are no ordinary berries and they had some weird taste to them which made Peeta want to spit them back out. I am curious to see how dangerous or poisonous these berries were and how it could affect them later on in the games.

I predict that later on in the games Peeta will be fully healed and ready to fight again. My guess is that the berries that he ate probably had some dangerous chemicals on them from the game makers to try and change up the game. However, with all of Katniss's help, I don't think they can be stopped. ain't was also interesting seeing how personable Katniss really is. She told Peeta May stories about her life at home and it wasn't even uncomfortable for her to talk about Gail. I think that their connection will only get stronger as the book goes on.

Theme

I started reading farther in the Hungar Games and I am surprised on how the characters have been betraying each other. Katniss and Peeta always had each others back and were friends up until the games started. Katniss spent most of her time looking for Peeta in the beginning only to realize that he started an alliance with the district 1 and 2 people who are expected to win the games. Katniss figures out who Peeta really is and doesn't want anything to do with him anymore. She goes out on her own hoping she can find somebody else and luckily, she does. Rue is younger than her and is great at moving quickly and hiding. I am wondering how these two will fit together and how their strengths can help them throughout the rest of the games.

A common theme I have noticed throughout this book is to watch who you you group with because later on there could be severe consequences. I have a feeling that the group that Peeta is with is going to turn on him and do something that could potentially hurt him later on. Also, Katniss gave all of her information to Peeta before the games and since she hasn't seen him since, he could be telling all of her secrets to his new group. I believe that Katniss made a good move making an alliance with Rue because it is not likely that a little girl would hurt her, and it would be hard to live alone. Together they have already made game changing moves such as cutting down the hornets nest to make everybody worry and hopefully drop all the food that they had. I am interested to see if Peeta will make an effort to find Katniss or if Rue and Katniss will be the game changing alliance that could lead them to the end.

Characterization of Montag

After reading the first section of Fahrenheit 451, I am starting to see how all the characters interact with each other. The character that has stood out the most to me is Montag. Montag is a fire fighter who starts fires instead of putting them out. In this society, books are illegal to have. So, Montag's job is to burn these books. Montag feels as if it is his duty to burn books for his community but he doesn't like to. I have noticed that every house he has needed to go to to burn these books have never been happy with what he was doing. It causes house fires sometimes, arguing, and destruction to the city. Something Montag says is; "What- was it always like this? The fire house, our work?" He wonders if the fire department ever helped the city instead of buring it down.

Montag wears a salamander on his shirt to show he is a fireman and the number 451 because thats the temperature that paper burns. Montag is a caring man who wants the best for everybody. He meets a 17 year old girl named Clarisse and they loved to spend time together. Something she said is, "You're one of the few that sticks up for me, that's why I think it's weird that you are a fire fighter. Most people are surprised about Montag's character because in this town, fireman are people who burn and take away things from people and if they choose this to be their job, usually they wouldn't be so kind and caring. Montag and his wife, Mildred, don't always get along either. Near the end of the first part, Montag pulls out old books that he had been hiding and keeping because the might come to good use. Mildred was astonished that he still had these because it is against the law and she believes they have no meaning. She wants them to be burned so there is not greater consequences later.

Blog Reflection

http://erikaaylmoresblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-hungar-games_22.html#comment-form

In this post, I talk a lot about the setting, and how it affects the characters in the book. The setting of the Hungar Games I used in this post was before the games even started, where they were treated like royalty. This really shows the characters true personality because it is there last few nights before the fighting starts. They are eating their final meals, and being given as much advice as possible before it all actually starts. Both Katniss and Peeta show a lot of respect towards Haymitch who helped them prepare greatly for this whole journey. When Katniss and Peeta have their gaurenteed final moments togeteher, it shows how they really care for each other. The setting I explained played a huge role in how all the characters interacted. For example if they are in the area, they will show nothing towards each other, or if its the last day of training they will show all have and create a bond. In this post I also talked a lot about Katniss and Peeta's trust right before the games begin. Katniss thinks she and Peeta are super close and they will be an alliance togeteher during the games, but when it came to preparing for the games, Peeta decides he wants to train alone. This worries Katniss greatly because she is afraid he is planning something without her which could hurt her farther in the games.

My goals for the next trimester for reading is to find a book I can actually enjoy and get into. The book I am reading now is interesting, but the plot moves very slowly and can get boring at times. Since reading a book isn't something I would do for fun, it is important that I enjoy the book I am reading while understanding it. I also want to read more challenging books that make me think a little harder. I usually just pick books that are in a series so that I can continue reading about the same characters after if I liked the previous books. For my writing next trimester, I want to be able to include more literary devices such as all the personification, similies, and metaphores that we have been writing this trimester. With each device having a topic, it makes it easier to write, so hopefully they will be easier to apply. Also I want to include more imagrey. When I read imagrey, it makes it easier to understand what is going on around the person. This makes a story easier to read and relate to.

Predictions

I have read farther into The Hungar Games and they are starting to get closer to the end of the games being over. Unfortunately, Katniss's closest allie, Rue was trapped and killed. She did all she could to keep her alive but it was too late. With only six people left, Katniss realizes that she is kind of on her own now and anything could happen to her considering nobody has her back. These final six get called for a meeting for a new rule that the game makers wanted to add. The new rule is if there are two people from the same district left at the end, they both win. Katniss isn't so sure that this is going to be the case for her because Peeta has aliened with other districts.

I predict that within the next few chapters Katniss and Peeta will begin to work together again. Even if they pretend that they are in love, the audience might buy into it and they would get more sponsors. With both of them working together, they would have better chance winning the games. Also since there is another district with both players still alive, it will probably cause some rivalry between the two. It will be interesting to see Katniss without Rue for the rest of the games considering they were such a close alliance. If Katniss does end up finding Peeta, I think she will convince him to start helping her. I am wondering what decisions Katniss will make in these next few chapters because it can affect her situations later on in the book.

Characterization

Throughout the story, Katniss and Peeta haven't met again. Katniss wishes she could find him to make sure he is okay, but it was too dangerous for her to go out looking for him. Katniss begins to hear noices and looks down under where the tree she has been sleeping in and she sees Rue. Rue and Katniss agree to make an alliance and always help each other. The both obviously realize that there is a stronger alliance going on between districts one two and three and Peeta, but with Peeta rescuing Katniss the other day, they all may be after him. Rue decides that it would be a good idea to hurt such a strong alliance by making sure they don't have any food. The plan works so far and Katniss, Rue, and Peeta are still alive as the games move forward.

From reading this section of the book, I start to see what kind of a person Katniss really is. It was hard to see who her true personality was while the interviews were going on because it was hard to tell if she was told to act a certain way. I now know that Katniss is a good person for siding with Rue because they both have their strengths which will help them farther on in the games. I also know more about Peeta. During the interviews I thought that Peeta loved Katniss and liked being around her but now that the games have started, they've only ran into each other once and he chose not to stay with her. I predict that later on in the story Katniss and Peeta will form an alliance together when there are less people alive.

Katniss and Peeta Meet

The games have started a few days ago and they have started to get used to what it was going to be like. So far there has been many distactions that the people in charge of the games have created. For example there has been deadly gases and everyone had to go as far away from it as they could so they wouldn't die from being in contact with the gas. Katniss has strapped herself to a tree and she knows that her biggest competitiors are sleeping under the tree she is in. She gets this brilliant idea to cut down a wasps nest, so it would land on them and they would have to run, and maybe even injure a few on the way. These wasps were much more deadly than regular wasps. After that scene, two died while others ran towards the river to try and swarm them away. On the way to the river Katniss runs into Peeta and they seem to be a little angry at each other. Katniss is mad at him for not trying to find her and making an alliance with other people. Peeta seems mad at Katniss for Katniss being mad at him.

This is as far as iv'e read so far and I think that they will begin to stick together and support each other during the games. Katniss claims that Peeta saved her life from when she passed out from all the wasp stings. Peeta ended up catching her and she didn't get hurt. I think that Peeta will leave his other alliance for Katniss because they have been training together for awhile and they might as well play togeteher. This will proabably put a huge target on Peeta's back, but with Katniss being as skilled as they are, I think she will be able to save him. I predict in the next few chapters, there will be more bad things that happen that the game makers create to make it harder for all the players.

The Games Begin

Katniss and Peeta got their last words of advice from their team and the games were finally beginning. They went into a glass tube and were raised up to the battle field. Every person was equidistant from another and from the middle of the circle. There are a bunch of supplies in the middle of the circle that you can take, if you are willing to risk your life, right after the sound goes off that the games begun. Even though Haymitch told Katniss and Peeta not to go that route, they both did. Katniss got one thing out of it, and Peeta got a few.

Katniss runs off as far as she can into the wood and climbs into a tree for the rest of the night, hoping nobody would find her, and she would be safe. She used her belt to strap her into the tree so she wouldn't roll out when she was sleeping. She waited and waited for the announcements of who was no longer living. She hadn't seen Peeta since the very beginning of the games and she wondered if he was dead. there was already 11 dead the first night and neither were from District 12. Later the next day Katniss hears someone's vouice that sounded like Peeta's, and it was. He made an alliance with a new group of people and was talking to them about Katniss and how she fell for the whole"love story" thing. Katniss was not pleased with what she heard and she was very unhappy that she turned against their alliance. I am wondering what will happen between the two of them during the games.

Character Development

Throughout the book, the relationship between Katniss and Peeta changes. At the beginning of the story, when they are picked for the games, they were familiar with each other, but they didnt actually know each other. They become more comfortable with each other and learn more about each other. They train together, eat meals together, and do mostly everything together. They have finally reached the point where it is their last interview before the games start. They both try to act as happy and bubbly as they can during the interview so they can get more sponsors.

During Katniss's interview she tells the story to the crowd about how she volunteered as tribute so her sister wouldn't have to compete in the games. Peeta takes a different route. He decides to tell everyone that he is in love with Katniss and he is happy that he has her to play the games with her. This did not go over well with Katniss. She thought that by the way he worded it, it made her sound weak. She got so frusterated with him that she pushed him into the glass. He had to bandage his hand, so that for the games tomorrow nothing will get inside. They don't know how they will act towards each other during the games.

Setting

I have started to read a little farther in the Hungar Games and I can really see how Katniss and Peeta feel towards each other before the games begin. Everyone in the games has started on one of their last training sessions and Haymitch makes sure that Katniss and Peeta are always staying together, whether if they are friends or not. They both had to do the final archery task where they would get scored and ranked a number 1-12 (1 being the worst and 12 being the best) to try and get sponsors during the game. Peeta gets an 8 which isn't bad at all for him because he had no archery skills coming into the experience, and Katniss revives an 11. They are both pretty confident because usually the higher number you had the more sponsors you get which can help you get advantages in the games. After competing this task, they have to both get ready and prepare for their final live interview before the games start to try and get everyone on their side as they can. Haymitch's plan was for Katniss and Peeta to practice together and do everything together but Peeta asks to prepare alone. This really worries Katniss because she thought she could trust him with anything, but with him turning on her this close to the games she doesn't know what to do. Katniss is very upset and wonders why they couldn't just prepare together because they have been doing everything together already. Haymitch's new plan is to have Katniss and Peeta take a different route and have Peeta be happy and confident while Katniss is told to be a little edgy. I can't wait to see what will happen next!

The setting so far in this story is living in a high class room before the games start. They treat them like royalty because it could be their last few meals ever. They also spend most of their time in the training rooms making sure they can get in as much practice as they can so they can apply those skills during the games. They have been training and practicing together so that hopefully during the games all their hard work will pay off. Katniss and Peeta don't spend much time anywhere else because preparing for the games takes up most of their time during they are there. I am wondering if the setting of the games will be in a forest or an open area.

Conflict

I have strted reading farther in The Hungar Games, and I can see the action rising. So far I have read to where Katniss and Peeta are called to play for District 12 in the Hungar Games, and they are on their way, on the train to begin training. They have been eating extravegaent dinners, and beginning to think about a strategy about how to win the games. Katniss isn't sure how much she should trust Peeta because they are basically stangers, and it scares her that he could always turn against her, and form an alliance with someone else. Haymitch tells them some tips to help them advance farther into the games when they start. In the next chapter, they begin training and see their other competitors. They were told to always stay together and pretend like they are best friends. In the ceremony before the training, they were told to do the same, hold hands, and look friendly. Katniss and Peeta had flaming, matching outfits that got the crowds attention. Throughout the training, they are starting to figure out who their real competition could be. I predict that in the next few chapters, they will be thinking more strategy now that they know what some  of their competitors talents are.

The conflict at this point in the book is going to training and seeing what their other competitors are going to be like. Katniss is afraid of most of the competitors because she is so little and all the other men there are twice her size. She luckily has the advantage of being able to use a bow and arrow very well compared to her other competitors. They both also wonder if everyone here is giving it there all or if they are holding things back. This would be a good strategy to use because people could think that you are very weak while training, but when the games actually start, people would be surprised to see how much talent you really have.