BLOG #6: North of Beautiful

I just finished a book called North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. I thought the most interesting part of the book is that they relate the story with a map. The author says, "My personal map was layered with experience-my trip to China with Mom, my cheating on Erik, the phone call I recieved from Merc the other night apologizing for how he acted in China..." (p 363). I thought this was an interesting line in the book because not only does it mention what has happened in her life, it also told further on that sometimes you don't need a map and just let things go for once. A passage in the book that also shows this was when the author wrote, "At the crossroads, my usual route lay to the left. Since junior high, I never strayed from the path that took me to school five days a week: left onto Main Street, right onto Grover Street. Today, I hit the gas pedal and plowed out of the Valley. Independence, straight ahead" (p 364). I thought this passage described the whole book because her whole life, she was on the safe road, always doing what was told and planning everything out to the littliest detail and for once she went off the path. She knew it was scary but that was the risk she was going to take.

BLOG #5: Lock and Key

I read the book Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. I really liked this book because how it was written. She wrote it in the present and the past so you never knew more about her past unless you kept reading. Usually in the books I read, the author has the first chapter explain what happened already but with Lock and Key, she just put in little flashbacks here and there. Another thing I really liked about this book is the main character Ruby. She seems like she has a different personality then any other person I know. She stands out in that way that Nate likes and I think that's really cool. She's really laid back and deep and thoughtful. Although she's struggling with herself also, she reaches out to help Nate because she knows what it's like and she can help him. Nate and Ruby are so similar because it's hard for them to accept help from others. They both rather be by independent and not owe anyone anything. But through the events of Ruby's life, she accepts that she doens't have to be like. She understands that she can ask for help and not feel embarassed and she teaches that to Nate too when he has the same problem and turns away from everyone when they try to help him about his Dad and his "problem".

BlOG #4: The Gossip Girl Prequel

Im am still reading The Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily Von Ziegesar. Before when I was reading this book, I was never bothered by the character Nate Archibald but now he's starting to get kind of annoying. He's become way to cocky about his looks and he thinks that all these girls want him (which they do) but he seems to be like thinking that if something didn't go his way, he'll be questioning or confused. For example, the main character Serena van der Woodsen has a crush on her bestfriend Nate, and when they actually kissed Nate thought she was the one he wanted to be with. But then later (like a day) he was flirting with these other girls and was thinking in his mind that so many girls want him and was listing off who they were. Then when he saw that Serena was kissing these other two guys, he was confused because he thought she completely loved him. That kind of gets irratating because these past few chapters have been talking about how everyone is hot for him. Another thing I found completely wierd was the fact that Dan Humphrey (another main character who is on the nerdy side and is obsessed with Serena) can smoke and he's only 15 years old!!! and what's even more shocking is his dad doesn't even care...This book is really good, but on the other hand it seems too good to be true. Like how they have huge parties and lots of money and this whole "Legacy" thing that everything is handed to them with the snap of a finger.

BLOG #3: The Gossip Girl Prequel

I am currently reading the Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily Von Ziegesar. The thing I found the most interesting in reading this book, is how she switches chapters from character to character and in between she “blogs” about certain big characters and sometimes hints to what the next chapter is about. Also, the “Gossip Girl” is someone that won’t reveal themselves and so in every chapter I look for certain clues to see if they match or say anything that the Gossip Girl blog says. For example, at the end of one blog, to sign out, he/she says, “You know you love me, Gossip Girl” (p 98). And then a letter to Nate from this girl said, “You know you love me, -L’Wren” (p 107). I think these are important signs to look for because he/she says that they are “one of them”. Meaning like one of those people you want to know everything about and is envious of him/her. Another thing is, compared to the show; it has a different kind of air to it. Like in the book for example, it seems like Nates pretty much a party guy and doesn’t have much deepness to himself, but in the show he’s lost and confused and trying to discover new things and he’s pretty thoughtful of his actions.

BLOG #2: Ready or Not

I read a book called Ready or Not by Meg Cabot and it’s the sequel to the book All-American Girl. While I was reading this book, I noticed that I really like the character Lucy (the older popular pretty cheerleader sister). Before, I always thought that she was selfish and superficial, but now at the end of the book, I realized that she sticks up for her sister and she really cares about her. Two examples of this in the book was when Samantha was called nasty names by her arch enemy Kris, and Lucy came to defend her and call out Kris for her own hypocritical ways. This is shown when Lucy says, “The thing is, Kris… you have to be careful who you call a slut. Because the truth is, there are a lot more of us than there are of…you guys” (p 200). This shows that Lucy was sticking up for Samantha when she was called a slut. Another example of when Lucy cares for her sister was when Samantha opened up to her about sleeping with her boyfriend for the first time and Lucy told her what to do to be safe and she also bought her stuff for it too. Lucy explains, “-is scared to death, well don’t be. Just make sure you use two methods of birth control…do you want me to buy it for you?” (p 51). This shows that she wants her sister to be responsible and not regret anything. She also is even willing to buy it for her. These examples show how much she cares about her sister and how much she loves her.

BLOG #1: All American Girl

I am reading a book called All American Girl by Meg Cabot. I like this book because every few chapters they have these mini journal pages that the main character writes and they are always like top 10 reasons this would happen...and i really like this because the last one always relates to what has happened. My favorite one was this one that said..."And the number-one little-known fact about Dolley Madison: 1) She wasn't really very attractive" I thought this one was funny because before, the president's son asked if she was related to Dolley Madison because they have the same last name and then later when she researched her, she found out she wasn't really very attractive and she didn't know if what he said then was a big insult. I just thought that part was funny and it was my favorite line in the book. I also noticed that this book goes very fast. Like the author skips a lot of days so it makes the book seem like a couple months and I thought this was interesting because usually I read books that happen in the same week or two. The one thing I don't like about this book, is that I find the main character a little annoying. She always seems to whine and she doesn't like her life. She always says how bad her life is compared to her sister and it's actually not that bad, like when she writes in her journal..."Okay, here are the top ten reasons why I can't stand my sister Lucy" and she lists all these ridiculous things that aren't so bad to me. I also think she's very annoying sometimes like when she puts herself down. But although I think all of that, I do think that she has a very strong mind. She knows who she is and when she was offered to go to her ex best friend's (now shes the queen bee of their grade) party she didn't even want to go, she didn't want to become popular and she doesn't like the way they talk or think and she doesn't want anything to do with it.

Confessions

I read a book called Confessions by kate brian and it is the 4th book of the Private series. This book shows the character overcoming odds when the main character Reed Brennan almosts dies from getting pushed off a dorms roof. The book says, "'I should have just killed you in the first place,' Ariana said through her teeth...Ariana backed me up, holding the knife point to my chin. The ground loomed beneath me..." (203). This just shows that her friend (well she thought she was) was going to kill her. Ariana even told Reed that she wrote a suicide note saying she jumped off the building roof but Ariana was going to push her. Reed was so close to dying that night and she was really scared but when she saw that her other friend Noelle sneaking up behind Ariana with a lacrosse stick she knew she might have a chance and she did. She survived and she feels really lucky when it was over because she was thinking to herself that like 5 mins. ago she could have been pushed off the roof and dead.