A Separate Peace by John Knowles (for some reason it didn't post last week)

I don't like chick flick books about adolescence or romantic comedies. I want to read books that impact my life or actually move me, not just keep me entertained. I had been struggling for awhile to find a book that I would not be able to put down. I kept finding books that were depressing or books that were interesting due to the advance formation of the characters. Then, in the instance of grabbing the first book off the shelf, signing it out of the library and then looking at the cover, did I find "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. The plot starts simple: two boys, one introverted and one the star, who go to a boarding school during World War II. I thought that for the mean time this was a perfect book since it would be at least slightly entertaining and I could learn a little more about World War II. I didn't know that two days later I would be finishing the book.

"A Separate Peace" was also my first American classic. The classified type of "classics" actually deter me from the section, probably since the writing is incomprehensible and it is usually about subjects I do not understand. I was unaware that I had stepped into a new ball game and soon realized I was reading a classic by the very advanced vocabulary and structure. I quickly pushed away my troubles with the writing and focused on what I could understand. This book is incredible, mostly because the characters are so relatable. Gene, the introverted character, struggles to overcome his jealousy of his friend, Finn who is fantastic at everything he does. Personally, I get jealous of when people are better at things than I am, because I'm human. John Knowles also makes you vert attached to the characters.

For example, in "A Separate Peace" Knowles created a character named Elwin Lepellier or Leper. Leper is a very efemminate male who would rather go cross country skiing to see a beaver dam than play Blitzball (the new school sport). You become very attached to Leper as he is very sweet and doesn't really fight back when people bully him. At one point Leper leaves to join the war and he becomes a sensation at the school. All the kids wanted him to succeed and came up with fantastical stories about his adventures throughout the war, some stories were used to make fun of him and others to celebrate his wonderful personality. It is then discovered that Leper has become very angry and every trace of his wonderful personality is wiped clean. He was changed by the war and everybody is frightened of the stories he tells.

"A Separate Peace" has mixed reviews since the book is very slow for certain people. I think that the book takes time to be understood. From the many reviews I read, they stated they found it boring and nonsensical, but this may have been from a lack of understanding. "A Separate Peace" is an interesting, sad and incredible book that really shows an evil side to adolescence. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fair American classic.

Books in 8th grade

As an 8th grader who loves to read, I have tried to read as many books as possible throughout this past year. Since I also struggle with the concept of picking out books that I feel would be very interesting and fun to read, I have depended on other peoples' blog posts, the class library and the Goodreads choice list to help me. I've followed all three references and discovered that most books for 8th graders seem to be intense or depressing. You may have either noticed or not noticed the staggering amount of books based upon self harm, depression, losing a loved one, heart wrenching love stories or the completely realistic books about what it is like to go through teenage years (which is definitely not pretty). 

One of the main books I read this year that still haunts my memory is "Looking For Alaska" by John Green. This book is about a bunch of kids who go to a boarding school who soon become obsessed with cigarettes, alcohol and breaking the rules. It seems that the book would not be depressing at all but suddenly one of the characters dies and it changes the entire mood and lesson of the story. When I read this book I cried for about ten minutes because I could not handle the death. I mean, who wants to read a book that makes you uncontrollably sob when you're surrounded by all your peers? Nobody. I obviously became attached to the book and learned a lot, but I'd rather not have been so shocked by what occurred in the story. 

I also tried to read a classified mystery, "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak. I thought reading a book about a man who receives mysterious notes and does good things for people would not find a way to give me a depressing message. Somehow though Markus Zusak was able to slip the message behind the writing that the main character was truly suffering from being poor, alone and actually quite depressed. When I finally got to the climax of the story, I was surprised of course, but my after thought is still a question for why this was suggested as an eighth grade book. We obviously have no experience of not having a good job, not going to college or not being in the relationship with the girl you love. This just puts added pressure on the reader because I was terrified after I read the book that I would turn up all alone as an adult. 

I think that authors are predicting that teenagers are starting to experience some of the emotions they feel at their age. Teenagers only get a slight taste of what it would be like to be an adult when they are going through the changes. By writing books such as the two I listed above, that show emotions and experiences we may not understand leads to a sense of discomfort and fear about growing older. I also feel that the books should be open to grade levels above us because I feel it is unfair to let eighth graders deal with unnecessary pressure. 

John Green

I just finished reading "Looking For Alaska" by John Green. I have also read his books; "Paper Towns" and "The Fault In Our Stars". These three books written by John Green are projected to the similar audience of teenagers, struggling to deal with the sudden rush of hormones they are now experiencing. The three books deal with three separate types of experiences teenagers can have when they are going through the emotional changes. Each book also contains a love story due to the fact that most people have their first love or first relationship as a teen.

In "Looking For Alaska" the story deals with a bunch of "misfits" who are completely addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, love and their status of popularity. The story shines on this boy who a social outcast, yet the kids who are addicted to alcohol, cigarettes and their strategic moves for pranking, invite him to their group. These kids were sent to boarding school and because they don't have to really worry about their parents watching them, they are able to live a life without many boundaries and try things they'll usually later regret. Teens can be introduced to drugs and alcohol and their lives turn sour, just like in "Looking For Alaska".

In "Paper Towns" it tells the story of a boy named Quentin who is completely infatuated with a popular girl Margo, who leaves the state unexpectedly. The story follows the main character, Quentin doing everything in his willpower to follow Margo's clues and find her. This completely describes teen males who struggle with the concept of a social status, so they chase after people, who I would say are "out of their league". The other half of this story tells the experience of Margo's life before she left home and that she was dealing with a lot of problems with her friends, and could not stand her family any longer. Many people deal with problems with their family and friends, and I think John Green wanted to let those people feel included in his story as well.

The last book I read by John Green is called "The Fault In Our Stars". "The Fault In Our Stars" is about a girl named Hazel who suffers from lung cancer and how she met a boy named Augustus who she completely fell in love with. The book is about their romance as she goes through chemotherapy and as she tries to decide what she may do if she has a certain number of months to live. I think that this book really represents people that suffer with an issue such as an illness, a confidence issue or someone with depression, and shows how these people can find love, even in the darkest of places. Teens suffer with being confident, depression and trying to discover who they truly are, and these people shut themselves out of falling in love with others. I think that John Green wrote this book so teens could know that you can find love, even when it seems impossible because of your situation.

I think that John Green may have struggled with serious issues as a teen, especially with the messages represented by his books. I think that by writing these books he is able to truly relive his experiences and help other teens learn from his mistakes. John Green is an incredible writer who is truly inspiring teens to experience life, and show them that they are truly not alone in the world. If you want to learn a powerful message, if you want to enjoy an amazing book, read any one of John Green's books.

Blog Post Review of Sylvie :)

URL for Sylvie's Blog Post on "Blonde Roots": http://thedaffodilgirl.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-01-25T05:09:00-08:00&max-results=7

After reading through at least sixty blogs I decided to write about Sylvie Freedman's blog post on "Blonde Roots" by Bernardine Evaristo. Sylvie first described in great detail all about the book and what I needed to know in order to understand what she had to say. As part of her blog post Sylvie went on to discuss the theme of the story. Her theme became the love for external beauty in this society.  

Sylvie discussed how society thinks that skinny fingers are "ugly as sin", and she found it curious. I definitely agree with Sylvie's point of view because of the society we live in. In today's culture, models are dangerously thin and the rest of society is trying to become as thin as possible. In this society where the Africans enslave the Europeans as slaves the theme that we see today is completely switched around. Maybe this author has a double meaning, and that if we are fat or thin, no matter what, someone in society will judge us. 

Sylvie also discussed how dolls are a symbol of perfection. When the main character, Doris was a child she played with dolls that are the classic blonde and blue eyed dolls we have in today's society. In this twisted world these new European slaves are given dolls that are slightly obese and have "wooly hair" and "bangles". This contradicts everything we see today, and Sylvie wanted to note that so we could understand how we would see things if we were part of Doris's world. Sylvie then went on to discuss the weight people want to be.

In today's lifestyle girls want to be a size zero to two in jeans, but in this society it is a sign of wealth to be overweight. Sylvie described how women love to feast and then show their obesity because it shows that they are on a higher status in society. Sylvie then went on to explain that neither of these techniques work well for the people. Sylvie stated, "I don't really know if either one of these is better than the other. They both hurt their bodies in different ways". 

I really enjoyed Sylvie's analysis of "Blonde Roots" because she truly accentuated the societal difference and it seems that Sylvie really wanted to make a point. Sylvie stated that this was probably the message wanted to send and it's very clear that Sylvie understood the theme of this book right from the start. I truly agreed with everything Sylvie said and I loved the blog post. 

"Cut" by Patricia Mccormick

In the book "Cut" by Patricia Mccormick it tells the story of a catatonic (someone who can no longer speak after a traumatic event) cutter girl named Callie. Throughout the story it gives away hints that her brother suffers from a severe form of asthma that keeps him in the hospital. This results in her father having to work more hours and he cannot spend any time with Callie. This causes Callie to feel some sort of separation from her father, which may have lead to her cutting. I've read about this book in several articles because this book was banned from many school libraries.

I do not agree with the position on banning this specific book. So far in the book you can sense the struggle Callie feels because she wants to tell everybody all about how she feels but cannot. She also shies away from everybody and does not include anybody in her private activities. I feel that people who are suffering from insecurities or any type of borderline personality disorder (such as cutting) find strength in this book. They know that someone out there feels the exact way they do and that hopefully they can get through the addiction.

People ban books like this because they feel that it is promoting the act of self injury when it truly is not. The author would definitely not write a book about promoting suicide, and if she did no one could possibly publish that. There is probably a cliche lesson at the end, you cannot get through this alone or you'll get through it, no matter what. Personally I find that if Callie committed suicide or some terrible act such as this, it would have a more dramatic affect on the audience and make the reader feel that they should stop whatever they are doing since it hurts the people around them.

I feel that they should not ban this book because it is a spread of awareness around the globe of what we need to fix in today's culture. People who may also suffer from Callie's addiction of cutting may also find the ability to connect with her and save themselves. This book is not a ridicule of the others who suffer from other illnesses such as anorexia or trichotillomania, it is to help show that those people are normal, but they were damaged in this terrible way. This is why I feel that "Cut" by Patricia Mccormick should be removed from the banned list.

"Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult 3

The book is about a school shooting caused by one of the high school students, Peter and how the entire town copes with the tragedy. It is a very fascinating book because at the very beginning the plot seems so simple but as you read on you discover the plot is very thick. The author uses a very interesting technique where she brings back a flashback so you can help understand the story. Then you realize how important that flashback is, when it becomes a secret that is a key part of the plot. It's almost like a diary and you keep going back and forth throughout the pages. Using this technique Jodi almost is telling the lesson that things shall come back at you if you keep them hidden, which all the characters do. 

Jodi also uses the technique of changing the point of view at the drop of a hat. It seems that Jodi uses this change of character to keep the plot enticing and exciting. The whole time I want to stay in one certain point of view but then it changes and I want to read more and more so I can find out what exactly occurs with that certain character. Then I'll read the next five to six paragraphs from another character view and then it abruptly ends and the cycle continues. I think that this is a very intelligent technique that will keep the reader reading 438 pages where almost nothing is happening, which is completely true of this novel. 

"Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult 2

In "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult, the plot continues. The book is about students and many other people in a little town who were affected by a mass shooting in a school. Most of the time the author discusses the minds of two victims. Peter Houghton, the shooter and Josie, a patient suffering from PTSD. While reading this book I thought about the victims of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and how they are dealing with the tragedy. While reading this I can't help but think about the shooter and how he may have been lead to commit such a crime.

Peter in the story actually suffers from PTSD. While he is being interrogated he explains that he was the victim all along and the people who he shot caused him to feel pain. Peter feels that the people who caused him harm deserved their fate. I wonder if maybe the shooter in Newtown felt that he was a victim of some type of crime and things went downhill from there or if he had some grudge against schools from when he was a teen or child. I feel that people, when they are classified as mentally insane, do these harmful deeds because in their twisted mind it makes sense. In Peter's case he thought that killing all the people who did him harm was the true way to solve the problem, but violence is never the answer.

In Josie's case she is also suffering from PTSD. She doesn't really want to leave the house and is completely devastated and raw from the death of her beloved boyfriend. I feel that this character is a lot like the mothers who were affected in Newtown. Someone who they loved so much was taken away from them on a completely ordinary day and they could not stop or save them. These people can go insane because they somehow feel that the death of their loved one was their fault, but in the end they need to accept that the tragedy happened and that they couldn't have done anything. Josie is struggling with the concept that she didn't save her boyfriend, but I know all wounds must heal, so she will soon be okay.

I think that the author is truly telling the story of a town in crisis after a tragic mistake. From watching the news on Newtown, I feel that Jodi Picoult is trying to show us all the different sides in a tragedy. I think she also wants us to see everyone's perspective and the different ways we all deal with grief. I believe that this is incredibly insightful and such an amazing book. Whomever is reading this needs to read this book.