Final Blog Reflection

Click here to view my best blog post.


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I think this is my best post because I was able to, "Write a theme statement for my book"(Making Sense of the Blogger Rubric Theme and Summary). The thematic statement I chose was, "Don't spend your life regretting about the past, when you should be spending it by living the present" (Wang Theme and Summary: The Book of Broken Hearts). Another reason why this is my best post is because I was able to, "Include quotes from your book that supports this theme statement, and explain WHY they support your theme statement"(Making Sense of the Blogger Rubric Theme and Summary). The quote from the book that I chose was, "There was no going back to the way things were, because all you ever got was the way things are. One moment. Then another. What you did with that moment was up to you. No regrets" (Ockler 328). Another reason why this is my best blogger post is because I summarized my book. A final reason why I believe this is my best post is because it was chosen for Featured Blogger Friday.

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Some goals that I have for myself next trimester for reading are that I want to read more books than I did this trimester and I also want to try to meet my goal of 30 books this year. A goal for writing is that I want to continue working on the book I am writing right now. Some areas of improvement I have for next trimester are that I shouldn't procrastinate with doing my other homework as much so this way I will have more time to read. Some areas of improvement I have for writing is by adding the things I have learned this trimester and incorporating it into the my book I'm writing.

    

 

Heros of Olympus

I am reading House of Hades and I think it's really good so far and I can't wait to keep reading. So far I really like all the suspense the book has and I would give it a 5 out of 5. I wish I had more time to read because it feels like I never have time to read anymore. I like how in this book it has chapters from the perspectives of all 7 demigods on the quest to stop Gaea. I also like how Rick Riordan incorporated both Greeks and Romans in his books and how he had them cooperate in order to defeat the evil earth goddess. I also like how he got the two camps to meet by taking Percy and switching him out for Jason. I just love how Rick Riordan made everything work out so well.

Theme and Sumary: The Book of Broken Hearts

The thematic statement for this book would be, Don't spend your life regretting about the past, when you should be spending it by living the present. A quote to support this thematic statement would be, "There was no going back to the way things were, because all you ever got was the way things are. One moment. Then another. What you did with that moment was up to you. No regrets" (Ockler 328). Like I mentioned in my last post this book is about a girl named Jude Hernandez and her dad has Early Onset Alzheimer's and Jude believes the only way to save her dad is by restoring his motorcycle because her dad remembers everything about the days when he'd ride his motorcycle. The mechanic they hired happens to be Emilio Vargas which like I've already said his brothers have a bad past with Jude's older sisters. But Jude starts to fall for Emilio and finds out that he's nothing like his older brothers. He is the one that helps Jude realize that there are no regrets and not to spend her whole life worrying about her dad because she couldn't have prevented him from getting Early Onset Alzheimer's.

The Book of Broken Hearts

Right now I am reading The Book of Broken Hearts and so far I'm really enjoying it. So far it's about a girl named Jude Hernandez and she is trying to help her father restore his old motorcycle. She believes that this is the last possibility in helping her dad with Early Onset Alzheimer's. This is because her dad can remember everything about the days he rode his motorcycle. The only problem is the mechanic they've hired is a Vargas. The history between the Vargas brothers and the Hernandez sisters aren't so good. Jude's older sisters have had their hearts broken by a Vargas brother. Jude starts to fall for Emilio Vargas and she doesn't know what to do.

Links and Displays: The Book of Broken Hearts, House of Hades

 

The Book of Broken Hearts                             House of Hades
http://sarahockler.com/            http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx

Link to summary of  The Book of Broken Hearts           
 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15805597-the-book-of-broken-hearts?from_search=true                                       

Book Recommendation: Flipped

Another book I have started reading is Flipped so far I am enjoying this book and I can't wait to read more. I would give this book so far a five out of five. I like how the author tells this story from the perspective of both the girl and the boy this shows what it is like from the other point of view. I would suggest this book to both girls and boys. This is book is realistic fiction. Flipped is a book that tells a story between a girl and a boy who are neighbors.  When Juliana Baker (Juli for short) first meets Bryce Loski she flips. When Bryce first meets Juli he runs. In the beginning of the book Bryce doesn't like Juli one bit but in the middle of the book Bryce starts to see a different side of Juli he's never seen before. Juli likes Bryce in the beginning when they are seven and toward the middle of the book she starts to see a different side of Bryce she doesn't like. I hope to find out what will happen between Juli and Bryce.

                                                 
                                     

Tone and Mood: The Daughters Join the Party

The tone in The Daughters Join the Party is determination because the main character, Emma Conway is determined to help her friend in need. The mood of this book is caring because Emma really cares about her friends and she will do anything to help them when they are in need of her help. When Todd Piedmont's dad is brought on trial and his story is posted in the newspaper Emma is determined to help him. She helps him by buying every single copy of the newspaper at the newspaper stand right in front of their school so no one sees the story on Todd's dad. She shows determination here, "I'd like all the New York Posts, please." The newsstand man looked up from the lotto ticket he was scratching. "All of them?" "Emma what are you doing?" Lizzie asked. Emma reached around into her backpack and pulled out her wallet. "Sir? Did you hear me? I'd like every New York Post you still have. How much do you think that will be?" The man still looked confused. "They're not all for sale." "Will this do the trick?" Emma asked, laying down a couple of twenties. The man shrugged and took the money. " Go for it" ( Philbin 94). Emma is really determined to help Todd so she convinces the newsstand man to sell her all the copies of the New York Post in order to get rid of them all so the other students at their school won't see the paper. The way she uses a determined and convincing voice got the newsstand man to change his mind.

The Daughters Take the Stage/ The Daughters Join the Party

The Daughters Takes the Stage is the book I just finished I really enjoyed it because it shows that you can't be afraid to stand up for yourself even if it's against your parents. The main character, Hudson learns to stand up to her mom when her mom goes too far. I would give this book a rating of 5 out of 5 I really enjoyed it. This series is one of those series that keep you wanting to read the next book. I just started the last book of the series. It's called The Daughters Join the Party and so far all I know is that this book is about a girl named Emma Conway whose dad is a senator who is now running for President and she doesn't seem really happy about it. Emma gets expelled from her boarding school and now from what I know I think she might be going to start school at Chadwick where Lizzie Summers, Carina Jurgensen, and Hudson Jones go. I think she is going to become friends with them because they all know what it feels like to have famous parents.

Character: The Daughters Take the Stage

I just finished the third book in The Daughters series it's called The Daughters Take the Stage. The main character's name is Hudson and she likes to sing slow jazz like songs and write her own songs. Hudson's mom just so happens to be Holla Jones a major pop star and she wants Hudson to become a pop star too. When Hudson decides to write her first album her friends Carina Jurgensen and Lizzie Summers both love it but her mom thinks it won't sell. Hudson at first sucks up to her mom and lets her mom turn her first album into something that she doesn't like. At the Snowflake Ball Hudson gets stage fright because her mom keeps pushing her to go bigger and better this causes Hudson to get scared and run off the stage and make a fool of herself. Hillary Crumple, a girl that goes to Hudson's school that is a fan of Hudson's mom asks Hudson to go shopping with her and Hudson agrees but when shopping Hillary asks Hudson what happened at the Snowflake Ball and Hudson tells her the truth then Hillary decides to become Hudson's life coach to teach her that she doesn't have to do what her mom always tells her to do. Throughout the course of the book Hudson starts to learn that she doesn't need to listen to her mom all the time. Hudson decides to drop her album that her mom changed completely and later decides to join the band of Hillary's cousin Ben. Later in the book her mom finds out that she dropped her album for a band and she is furious and makes Hudson quit the band. Devastated Hudson decides to start listening to her mom again until the idea of starting up her original album comes up and she decides to finish her first album. In the end Holla realizes that she needs to give Hudson more say in her life. Hudson tends to get along with everyone. She is polite to everyone even to the people she dislike. Hudson tells Ava, girl that she has never liked, " Don't you have more important, interesting things to think about than my life?" This shows that she'll even be polite to her enemy. Hudson is a round and dynamic character because she changes throughout the story from a shy person that let everyone tell her what to do to a person that wouldn't let people boss her around or tell her how she should do things.

Theme and Summary: The Daughters Break the Rules

The theme of The Daughters Break the Rules is: Try putting yourself in the other person's shoes. " Then why don't you ever look at me?" she asked. Her father blinked at her. "What?" "You don't ever look at me. It's  like you forget I'm around. Or you don't even want to remember." His eyes got watery. "Oh honey," he said, his voice catching. "It's just that you look so much like her. You're the spitting image of your mother. It's just hard for me sometimes" (Philbin261-262). Carina's dad and her have a big fight where her dad was going to send her away but with the help of her friends she stays and after that fight she and her dad get into an even bigger fight that lasts for weeks. Carina is desperate with twenty dollars a week she has to live on. She tries to find a job and when she gets a job she isn't exactly going to be able to fulfill and everything turns into one giant mess. When Carina learns the truth of what caused her parents divorce. She sees how her dad feels. She finally makes up with her dad and she then knows it's time to tell her dad about the job she can't fulfill.

The Daughters Break the Rules

I just finished The Daughters Break the Rules and my prediction was right about her father learning a lesson. Carina's dad did learn to start caring for her instead of being a spoiled billionaire. Her dad starts to be nicer to her after Carina tells him how he's been treating her. You also find out the truth about what happened between Carina's parents and what caused her parent's divorce. This is what ends up ending the fight that Carina and her dad had. It also answers the reason for the other fights with her dad. This is what causes both of them to realize what it is like to be in the other person's shoes. You find out how Carina deals with her twenty dollars a week. Carina shows a girl named Ava that a good party doesn't need to be fancy. Carina when she only had twenty dollars a week got to experience what it was like not being able to have everything she wanted to buy.

Analysis: The Daughters Break the Rules

The setting of The Daughters Break the Rules is in New York City. I know this because Carina comes out and says to her dad: "Twenty dollars a week-in New York City? He might as well have given her nothing"(Philbin 55). I can infer that Carina is going to fight for her rights that her dad took from her. You can tell because of the way she reacts when her dad cuts her off. The way Carina always talks back to her dad also shows you that she's going to put up a fight to get her rights back that her dad took from her. I can also infer that Carina's dad probably isn't happy with the way how Carina is so disrespectful towards him. In the beginning of the book Carina tells her dad what she thinks about him by saying, " Is that all a being a father means to you? Paying for stuff?" (Philbin 25). He shows that she disrespected him by cutting her off.






                                                         

Reading Skills: The Daughters Break the Rules

I am currently reading The Daughters Break the Rules. From what I've read so far I predict that the "Daughter" in this book, Carina Jurgensen's dad is going to eventually be taught by Carina that money isn't everything and that he will learn to start caring for her more. From what I've read so far I wonder if Carina's dad will learn to start caring for her instead of being a spoiled billionaire. A text-to-text connection that I can make is that in both 13 Little Blue Envelopes and this book both of the main characters are given a certain amount of money they can use to survive for a certain amount of time. Another text-to-text connection I can make is that in the book School Spirits and in this book both of the main characters don't get to see one of their parents very often. A text-to-self connection I can make with Carina is that both of our dads don't really know us very well. Another text-to self connection I can make is that Carina's friend, Lizzie likes to read and write I too enjoy reading and writing. A text-world connection I can make is that fact that Carina says it's impossible to survive on twenty dollars for a week when you live in New York. This is similar to the real world because there is no way you could survive on a whole week in New York if you are only given twenty dollars. This is different from the real world because in the real world your parents probably wouldn't force you to live on twenty dollars.

The Daughters

One of the books I just finished was called The Daughters. This book is told from the perspective of a fourteen year old girl named Lizzie Summers who just so happens to be the daughter of a the famous model Katia Summers . Her friends Carina Jurgensen the daughter of a Karl Jurgensen a very successful businessman and Hudson Jones the daughter a  famous pop star Holla Jones. Lizzie knows she isn't the prettiest girl and having a model for a mom doesn't make it any easier until she meets Andrea Sidwell a photographer that want for her to model for her. Lizzie agrees and soon she becomes the new face of New York. Does Lizzie know what she's gotten herself into?

                                               


                                                            http://joannaphilbin.com/

Book Recommendation: Spell bound

I am currently reading Spell bound by Rachel Hawkins. It is the third book in the trilogy of the Hex Hall. The genre of the books are fiction and they are about prodigium.( Witches, Warlocks, Werewolves, Faeries, Vampires) The books are told from the perspective of Sophie Mercer a seventeen year old girl who is a very powerful witch and something more. Sophie is one of the only of her kind besides her dad that's alive or is she? This series is like a prodigium twist on the story of Romeo and Juliet because she could never be with the one she truly likes. All throughout the series Sophie learns some secrets that have been kept from her for all these years.



Summer Reading: The List

The theme of The List is stay true to yourself. Over the course of the text you can see that this statement is seen all throughout the book. It first emerges in the text when Sarah Singer says that she believes she's only ugly because she likes to be different. Then she decides to write the word ugly on her forehead to show the school that she accepts the fact that they think she is ugly. Throughout the book you find out that Jennifer after being the ugliest girl for all four years of high school she has finally accepted the fact that everyone thinks she's ugly. The other two girls however don't believe that they are ugly and they make a big deal over "The List" and that made them appear badly in the school. Which made everyone think that they deserved to be on "The List". Such as Candace for not accepting the fact that she was on "The List " which caused her friends to betray her and to go be friends with the prettiest girl in the grade.

 

 

 

 

 "The List" is about a high school where a list of 8 girls two from each grade. One will be named the ugliest and the other one will be named the prettiest .

 

The List Article