Paper Towns

I started reading the book, Paper Towns, by John Green. Being not far into this book, I am already intrigued. John Green is a fascinating author and his topics are relatable to the modern world and the society we live in today. I chose to read this book because of the movie coming out and because I enjoy reading books written by John Green.

So far in the book, Quentin Jacobsen,  the main character, reunites with his neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo breaks into Quentin's room one night at midnight for a favor. Being so late, Quentin freaks out and he doesn't know why she is in his room, considering the fact they haven't spoken in 7 plus years. Not long after Margo opened the window did her dad catch and call her back into the house. After a few minutes, she appears back at the window, covered in black paint. Then they both sneak out of the house into Quentin's car and they take off.

That is as far as I have gotten and I'm anxious to see what happens next. When the chapter ended, they were pulling into a grocery store parking lot and Margo said that they were going to turn wrong from right. I am predicting that Margo is having troubles with her friends and she needs help to fix them. I am excited to see where the book goes and anxious to see why they had to sneak out of the house.

Satire Example

This picture is an example of caricatures. I know this is an example of caricatures because of the way it brings out the facial expression of the men in the picture. Also, it exaggerates the annoyed look of the people in the picture about going/dropping out of high school. The purpose of this satire is to make fun of high school drop outs and make fun of the stereotypical high school drop out.  

Key to Helping Poor is Understanding Them column by Krista Ramsey

In the column, Key to Helping Poor is Understanding Them, by Krista Ramsey, she talks about how to help others. Many people just avoid eye contact with the poor or less fortunate, but in order to help them get to a higher spot in our society, we must try to understand what they are going through and reason with them. 

One line in this column that really stands out to me is, "The key to it all, he says, is having people "sit among" one another." This stands out to me because it is very straight forward. To those who may not understand what it is saying, picture yourself being poor/in poverty. If someone tried to talk to you and help you by getting to know your situation, how would you feel? Having someone "sit among"-as the column states-is a feeling we all strive for. It's the feeling of acceptance and kindness. This line shows/states that in order to understand someone, one must talk to the person they are trying to help. This lines doesn't have diction, however it shows syntax by using the quotation marks. This gives the words inside the marks more meaning and emphasis. 

Krista Ramsey writes with a unique style.She writes from different points of views and from topics not talked about often. For example, in the column, Super Bowl QBs Score Points for Great Style, she wrote from the perspective of two rival quarterbacks going to the Super Bowl. She doesn't talk about what other articles would talk about when writing about the Super Bowl. She sets aside the football aspect of it and writes about each quarterbacks sense of style. How they are always well groomed for press conferences and such. In another column called, For Better Vision, Kids Need Time Outdoors, Ramsey talks about how kids can improve their vision. This writing includes great diction and syntax, as does the rest of her writings. This column however, uses the repetitive use of hyphens. By using the hyphens, she shows the importance of what she is talking about. She also uses short sentences in her columns. The use of short sentences get the point across quickly and effectively. 

Three questions I would like to ask Krista Ramsey are:
-Where do you get your ideas to write about? Do they come from life experiences or do they just pop into your head?
-Has writing always been your dream job?
-What college did you attend?  

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/07/03/krista-ramsey-sherman-bradley/12201889/

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane #2

As I finish this book, I am amazed. Suzanne Collins has astonished me with her writing once again. I, however, enjoyed the first book in Gergor the Overlander series. In the second book, Gregor experiences new challenges. He and his sister Boots have to kill the grest bane before the rest kills Boots.

In the last part of the book, Greogr experiences something a 13 year old boy really shouldn't have to experience. The rat he has to kill, is just a baby and he can't bring himself to kill a baby. His check rides on the life of his baby sister. If he kills the rat, he kills a baby, but if he doesn't kill the rat, it will kill his baby sister. Gregor can't let his sister die, making this challenge more difficult than the others.

As I mentioned in other posts about the Gregor series, I metioned Collins' unique style of writing. She uses very unique syntax. She uses an abudent amount of commas, diction, and her sentence structure is a different style. In a way, she writes like Willam Shakespeare, with her writing backwards with unique word structure.

This was overall a great book. I would recommend the series to anyone who wants to try to read fantasy. I believe Susanne Collins will hook you into the book, and want you to read more.

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

I started the second book in the Gregor the Overlander series, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane. This book has introduced me to new characters as well as past characters from the first book. So far, Gregor has fallen into the under ground again. He now has a new quest and this one includes him killing a giant rat. The other rats are after his little sister, Boots, trying to kill her. Gregor's new quest has him face new challenges and hardships, trying to complete it without his sister dying.

Suzanne Collins is a very interesting author. She includes different styles of writing in all of her novels. Each novel/story she writes includes and different style of writing. In this book, she writes in third person. She also uses commas and great diction in her writings. Collins includes detailed images in the Prophecy of Bane. Images that become engraved in your mind about what the under land is like.

I hope that this book is as good as the last one. I hope it is better. I hope I continue to read this book at a fast pace so I an read the next book in the series. I hope Gregor achieves his goal and returns to his home safe and sound.

Gregor #4

Wow. I finished Gregor the Overlander. When I first started this book, I was dreading it. I thought this book was going to be extremely boring and I would never be fully engaged in it. I thought wrong for sure! Suzanne Collins did a phenomenal job keeping me engaged in throughout the entire book, including the parts that seemed to drag on. Collins used various forms of creative writing as well. One part that stood out to me the most during the course of the book was the way to different creatures spoke, as well as the Underlanders. To be more specific about this, one certain animal that stood out was how the "crawlers" spoke. They spoke in an almost backwards way. For example, on page 33, the crawlers say: "Give you four baskets, give you?" These creatures say the first part of there statements/questions twice.

Another aspect of Collin's writing that stood out to me was how descriptive she was. She wrote in very precise detail, creating vivid images in the readers mind about what is going on. She described the rats extremely well. The way they bared their sharp, yellowed teeth at any outsider that came near them. Or the way the bats could fly, without sight, in the eerie, darkness that lingered for miles. Descriptiveness like this, kept me engaged and made me want to not put the book down.

Overall, this book was fantastic! I am starting the next book in the series and will keep you guys updated on my progress. I hope that book is as good as this one. Anyone who is not into fantasy, I suggest you read this book, it will get you engaged and maybe change your mind about fantasy. I know it changed mine.

Gregor #3

Since my last post, I have made lost of progress. I am proud of how far I have read. In this post, I am planning to summarize what has happened so far and make a few more predictions.

In the beginning of this book, I was not engaged at all. Gregor and his little sister, Boots, were in the laundry room in the apartment. Boots had gotten away from Gregor's. She slipped into a dryer and fell into a mysterious hole. Gregor went in after her and they ended up in the Underworld. A few years before, Gregor's father had disappeared. I predicted that his dad was in the Underworld. As the story went on, Gregor is taken into a prophecy room. According to a certain prophecy, Gregor is the "chosen one". The Under landers believe he is apart of the prophecy and he is there to save another over lander, his dad. This is as far as I have gotten in the book. Like I said before, I am proud of how far I have read since my last post.

I personally think this book is good. It has engaged me into it, making me want to continue reading. I predict that Gregor will find his father, and bring him back home to his family. I also predict that Gregor's mom will start looking for Boots and him, falling into the Underland during the war.

Next week, I hope to be even further. I hope that my predictions come true and I hope the book will engage me even more.