Every Day

I am reading the book Every Day by David Levithan. The character I chose is Justin. He is a little bit different because he wakes up in a new body every morning. He is always the same age, 16. But, whether his skin is light or dark, whether my hair is long or short, whether I'm fat or thin, boy or girl, scarred or smooth. "Justin" says that the body is the easiest thing to adjust to, if your used to waking up in a new one each morning. It is the life that is the hardest to grasp. Every day he is someone else. He is himself  he knows he is but he is also someone else. It has always been like this for him.

Setting: Soulless: The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger

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Soulless is a novel set in Victorian London, England, with a twist. The genre is called Steampunk. I have since learned this genre has a fan movement attached to it, and many of the fans (as well as Steampunk authors) have a penchant for cosplay. Anyway... the best way to describe the genre Steampunk, in general, is to say it is Victorian values and dress, but with the use of steam contraptions. Let me try and explain...

So here you can see what is called a "mechanimal". It's a dog, run on steam power, consuming coal and well... pooping ash. This picture is what I see the main character's dog looking like in Carriger's novel Etiquette and Espionage. 

I'm sorry, I digress. But it is a difficult setting to wrap your brain around. The main difference I see in the settings of Carriger's books is her inclusion of the supernatural. The main character in my book, Soulless, is Alexia Tarabotti. She comes from a very good background, but she is peculiar as far as the world of women and courting (dating) goes. Alexia's father was Italian, so Alexia is not a Barbie-like woman. She is rather strong, rather tall, has olive skin and long black curly hair. She is also 26-- quote old to be single in this mid to late 1800s world. Her family is obnoxious. Her two sisters, very blonde and petite, find Alexia and her stubborn ways unbearable. Her mother has no idea when or how Alexia will find a suitable man to marry, and her step-father would be happy with any solution to rid Alexia of their house in the cheapest manner possible. The thing her family does not know, the other thing besides her looks that sets her apart, is that she is soulless. She is what is called a preternatural. In a nutshell, she has the unique ability to neutralize any vampire of werewolf back to human form by simply touching them. 

In a world where women are expected to look nice and follow strict social rules, Alexia stands out like a sore thumb. She would rather spend hours reading in her father's library than date a man. She is very forward, and the first glimpse we get of her in the novel she is killing a rogue vampire in an ornate sitting room at a high society gathering. She is obviously NOT your average woman. Oh, and to top it all off, she falls in love with a werewolf. Love between a supernatural and a preternatural? Well, who knows what hyjinks that will bring in future books. 

I am almost done with the book, and I have to say in terms of the "steam" in steampunk, I found very little of it until I was nearly at the end and in a secret lab. All I saw was a steam tea maker in a carriage and some funky glassicals that the Beta werewolf, Prof. Lyell, wears. Now near the end, I see an automaton who is Frankenstein like and made out of steampowered gears under old blood and slightly humanish flesh, and some odd medical contraptions run on electricity. There were far more references in the young adult series written by Carriger than in this one-- but I have only read this one book. Actually, though I like the characters, I have little interest in reading another of her books in this series. 

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For All My Fault in Our Stars Fans

For all my Fault in Our Stars fans, and I know there are so many of you, here are some things definitely worth your while to check out! Follow me...


Meet Esther Earl. She is not the only girl who inspired John Green as he wrote The Fault in Our Stars, but she is the girl whose story has the most parallels. Courtney Jones, from Booklist, reviews  this book as such: Esther was 16 when she died from complications of thyroid cancer in 2010. By that time, she’d become a fixture among the Nerdfighters, a community dedicated to intellectualism and creativity, created by YA author John Green and his brother, composer Hank Green, via their popular YouTube channel, the Vlogbrothers. She loved Harry Potter–themed “wizard” rock music and Doctor Who, and she was part of Catitude, a group that ran the Project for Awesome, a Nerdfighter charity campaign. John Green dedicated The Fault in Our Stars (2012) to Esther, and in his introduction to this memoir, he notes that while he’s proud of Fault’s success, “the one person I most want to read it never will.” Featuring essays from friends, family, and doctors and curated by her parents, this collection—part autobiography, portfolio of her fiction and drawings, and photo album—is a touching eulogy, and it fulfills her dream to be an author. An intimate portrait of a vibrant, deeply engaged teen, this title reveals the power of the internet as a mode for connection, which comes through with each reproduced chat session and blog post. As the Nerdfighters say, rest in awesome, Esther.

In addition, there are also some really interesting articles out there to give you an overview of who Esther was. To read an interview with Esther's sister, click here.

Check it out!!!

                                                                   Dogs Of War



The book dogs of war is about in the afghan war the American troops used dogs to sniff out bombs, traps, trip wire and other deadly things. this book was not only a fun read but it also helped me learn more about the American forces and how they defend our freedom.
       my favorite part of this story was when the dog heard enemy troops approaching and barked a lot to inform the American troops that there were other hostiles coming and not only did he save the  troops but the dog also made a heroic effort to save American lives. this was a very fun informal hart warming read and I enjoyed this very much.

Dogs Of War

The book Dogs Of War it is about the Afghanistan war and how dogs were a major part in the war.  The dogs helped in the war by sniffing around for bombs, traps, tripwire, and more.



My favorite part of this book is when the dog smells enemies coming and barks like crazy to alert the American troops. The dog not only saved the American troops but won a award for the best army dog in history.



In the book Dogs Of War there was two stories about war dogs. In the second story there was a dog who was raised by the army from when it was a puppy. In this story the dog is in the Iraq war. This dog saved many lives by sniffing out bombs and I.E.Ds.


These dogs may not be like regular dogs but they have good lives after there service. They get to go and live in regular homes in the Untied States after service. They get to have normal lives and in the end of the book it said that the dogs don't bark at strangers if they are in a uniform. The dog runs up o them and sits like he is salute them.







               Trevor T.                       Dogs Of War

If I Stay

              "Am I dead? I actually have to ask myself this. Am I dead?"   Parts like this in If I Stay are what brought me to like Mia. I love how she really lets you into her mind and show you exactly what she's thinking in the moment. When she asks herself questions, she leaves you wondering the same things. It's intriguing because you want to know what she might find out. She is also very unique, especially in the ways that she differs from her family.
              She really opens her mind after her car crashes. She realizes that she is outside of her body but can't tell if she's living. Her confusion relates to the reader's confusion. Both the reader and Mia don't necessarily know what is going on for sure. I also got pulled in to liking Mia when she is describing her childhood as growing up to be a cellist. I think it is great that she is different from her family in that light, and even that she doesn't look like them. That is what truly makes her her own person. 
              Mia reminds me of a character named Tris, from Divergent. They remind me of one another because they are both different from a lot of people around them. Tris is different because her personality and thought process is different from that of a normal person. Mia is different because she stands out from the rest of her family, by appearance and by having different interests, such as playing the cello. Although Tris and Mia are unique in different ways, they still are alike in that aspect.

Eleanor and Park

" With crazy hair, bright red on top of curly. And she was dressed like... like she wanted people to look at her." (pg. 8)
    This line immediately sparked my interest in Eleanor . The combination of the crazy red hair and dressing  differently really caught my attention. I, for one, understand the whole unmanageable ginger hair thing. And the whole "new girl" title isn't abstract for me either.  There's countless awkward situations that you wouldn't even take in to account when being the newest victim in a jail we call school. First of all, feeling like you're taking a veterans place when you're still a rookie is a god awful feeling.  So when the newest victim, Eleanor, goes to find her place on the bus  no one welcomes her with open arms.  Of course she wanted to cry her eyes out. Not feeling accepted is a horrific  feeling, but she kept her cool. I admire this about her because for some people in trying situations they show weakness, but not Eleanor. Strong women is kind of my cup of tea  and she fits this role perfectly.
   

Strombreaker

In the book Strombreaker by Anthony Horowitz, Alex Rider was told that his uncle Ian was killed in a car acciedent. Alex was a suspicous about the death of his uncle. Alexs whole life he was told that his uncle was a banker, but he soon finds out that his uncle Ian was a spy for the MI6-Britian's top secret intelligence agency. Alex is determined to find out the killer of his uncle, but gets caught in to a trap.

I personally like the character Alex Rider because I think he is determined to find out who the killer of his uncle. I also like how the character is tough, he was upset about his uncles death but tried no to show it, Alex would want to go to school to get his mind off things. In the story it says, "Alex haden't gone to school,even though, secretly, he wanted to. He would have preferred to escape back into the normal life...". I liked how he would want to get rid of the situation than rather keep it on his mind.

At the end of the chapter, he walks into his uncles "office" (not really a office) he realizes everthing is gone and starts to get more intrested into the situation, and is determined to find out more. Also he said he would'nt cry about the death, showing that he is tough and brave about the whole problem.

 I think that Alex Rider is like the charater Denna Labert from the Story of the Girl. Both characters show toughness by Dennas reputation was ruined because of Tommy Weber. She then soon saw him everyday at work and was brave and tough and stuck with the job. Alex reminds of her because they both are upset about the problems they have but dont show it.

Divergent

In the book Divergent the world is made up of factions. The factions are Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity and Dauntless.  When kids turn sixteen they have to take a test to see what faction they belong in.  Beatrice was born into the Abnegation faction.  When she took the test to see what faction she should be in, her results were inconclusive. Which means she has a little bit of each faction in her.  The term is called Divergent, and it is a very dangerous thing.  I really like the character Beatrice.  I like the character because when everybody else only belongs to one faction, and thats there personality, Beatrice has all the personalities from each faction.   I feel like I can relate to her because I have a little bit of each of the factions in me just like her. Braveness, selflessness, and intelligence.  I think the book is going to be really good because I really like books with a lot of action and this book defiantly has a lot.  Also I really like how much detail the author puts into each chapter.

Fallen

Fallen is about a girl name Luce who is forced to go to this new reform school, Sword & Cross, because of a horrible incident that happened at her old school and everybody blames her for it, even her parents. I like this character, Luce, because she is very optimistic even though she is a new student and knows absolutely nobody, she still tries to find a group to fit in to and believes that things can't be as bad as everybody says they are.


When Luce meets a girl called Arraine, who is very commanding and is not a very good student in school, they sort of become friends but Arraine calls Luce her 'pet'. Luce sees this really cute boy named Daniel and thinks that it is love at first sight but what she doesn't know it that Daniel, who is a total bad boy and is not the type of person you want to get involved with, is very disrespectful. But she still loves him. Then she meets another boy named Cameron who is kind of like Daniel except he's much more sweeter and not that disrespectful. "When the stapled packet landed in front of Luce, she leaned forward eagerly to take a look." I chose this sentence because it shows that Luce is eager to find out things about her new school. She also wants to learn.


I think a good connection between two character's  is Cameron and Daniel. I think that because even thought they kind of have different personalities they both have the same edgy look and they're both careful of who they tell their secrets too. They are also interested in Luce.

5, 6, 7, Nate

Nate is a 14 year old boy from a small town pursuing his dream on Broadway. It was not like anything he expected. The director can't direct, the dances are too hard for him, and now he has a secret admirer that is stalking him. 2 and a half weeks until previews and the show isn't even halfway done! I love 5, 6, 7, Nate because like Nate, I want to be on Broadway one day. The author, Tim Federle, makes the book so good that you can't put it down. I also love this book because it's not hard, but it's also not easy. It's a fun book to read and I can't wait to finish the rest of this book and see what the 3rd book in the series brings to the table!

Its A Mental Thing, by Gregory A. Dale & Jamie E. Robbins

The purpose of this book is to give the mental advantages to become a very successful athlete. They give you strategies that help you handle the pressure of competition. One example is, to believe in yourself, I believe that believing in yourself makes you work harder as an athlete in games or practices. It makes you push yourself. Next example is to embrace the pressure, when your in a game, use the pressure to your advantage, Another one is, demonstrate positive character, people will get on your nerves but you just have to work through it and not fight back. The last one is to enjoy the journy, always have fun while your doing what you love to do, I think this has a lot to do with helping me become a better athlete because it gives me tips on what to do and what not to do when I'm in situations like these.

Deadline

      In the book Deadline a 18 year old boy named Ben Wolf just discovered he has leukemia early his senior year, but decides not to tell anyone, not even his parents. I like this character because hes still here and he still wants to live his life and isnt stopping, yet. "Ive never pictured myself over twenty". I picked this line because it shows that he knows that things will get a lot worse but isnt ready to stop. But I also think he is a little strange because why doesn't he want to tell anyone expesicaly his parents. I think a good conection between two characters in the book are Ben and the doctor. I think this because the doctor is always trying to find whats best for Ben, expesicaly when it comes to not telling his parents and about treatment. He always tells Ben to keep strong.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

“‘Okay?’ ‘Okay.’”

Right from the beginning I fell in love with John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars. The story tells of a teenage girl with lung cancer who must overcome the fear of her disease and live her regular teenage life. Even though Hazel Grace Lancaster despises doing anything that doesn’t involve reading and some quality alone time, her mom forces her to go to a focus group with other diseased teens, but Hazel actually turns out to like it. Well… she likes an aspect of it. Augustus Waters.  A gorgeous, one legged boy who has an exquisite use of language. As I read deeper and deeper, the two begin to fall into an amorous relationship filled with alarming spikes of disease. This book absolutely will tug on your heart strings but it is a definite must-read. 

-Emma S. 

My Life Next Door

In this book, Samantha falls in love with the boy next door.  Her mother is always talking trash about the family that this boy is from so Samantha decides to keep Jace, the boy next door, a secret.  Samantha's mother is a single parent of three children.  They did not mention what happened to the dad, but it can be assumed that whatever happened wasn't good.

Out of all of the characters in the book I personally dislike Samantha's mom the most.  She always talks about how unfortunate it is to live next door in the Garretts because with 6 children sometimes there yard isn't the neatest and it makes the rest of the neighborhood look bad.  She makes it seem like it was a mistake to have that many children, but Samantha knows that it wasn't a mistake.  The Garretts just have a different idea of what "normal" is.  Her mom is often saying things like, "There's one in every neighborhood.  The family that never mows their lawn.  Has toys scattered everywhere.  The ones who never plant flowers, or do and let them die.  The messy family who lowers real estate values.  Here they are.  Right next door...".

Her mom is the kind of person who judges before they know anything about the family at all.  The neighbors had just moved in and she is already judging the kind of family that they will be.  Also, she  is not the best of mothers.  She is often caught walking into the house with her dates, kissing on the kitchen table..  Samantha has to scream for her mother just to get her attention because she is so caught up in her relationships and also in her political life.  Samantha's mom just won the recent election for state senator.  Samantha barely gets to spend quality time with her mother because of all of her work for senator and business trips, meeting and unexpected guest visits.

Samantha's mom reminds me of the mother from the book Dreamland by Sarah Dessen.  The mother was way to caught up in her own life to realize what was going on with her child who was being abused by her boyfriend.  This reminds me of Samantha's mother because she is too distracted by her work life to realize that her daughter is in a relationship with one of the families she hates the most.

If I Stay

            "If I Stay" is a book by Gayle Forman that is about Mia Hall, a 17 year old girl. Mia finds herself in a tragic accident that occurs in her family. Her and her brother, Teddy, are Mercy-Flighted to the hospital. Her parents were killed on impact. Mia is not in her torn and broken body but she is somewhat like a ghost. She is in a perfectly healthy body watching her body get treatment.
            Mia is an exceptional cello player. She started young and has been doing it for 10 years. Her family is divided in their preferences of music. Mia has always been drawn to classical music and her brother, at the age of 8, has always liked SpongeBob Square Pants. Their parents like a variety of different genres. When the accident happened, Beethoven's Cello Sonata no. 3 was playing.
            Mia's boyfriend, Adam, is part of a rock band called the "Shooting Stars." Mia explains that Adam is the kind of guy that you would never picture with a girl like Mia. They both have hidden stacks of records under their beds.
            Mia is faced with a decision no one should ever have to make: she has to decide whether to live the rest of her life without her parents but with Adam or to let herself go.

Leap Day            

           A character I like in the book Leap Day is Josie. I like Josie because she is confident, unique and determined.  The book says “On some level, she must know she’s not the world’s greatest driver, but she’s determined to pass. She’s always been much more willing to take risks and try new things...” This shows that Josie is determined to pass her driving test and she is confident enough to try it even if it might not go as well as she hopes. Josie is unique because she was born on leap day. In the book, her teacher writes “HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY JOSIE!” on the chalkboard because she realizes that Josie’s birthday is unique and special.  Another thing that Josie did that I liked was when she told her brother that it would be easy for her to get the part of Juliet in the school play. Even though she wasn’t completely certain she could get the part, she acted like she was confident anyway.

            Josie reminds me of the character Rory from the book Finally. In the book Finally, Rory makes a list of things that she wants and her parents tell her she can have them when she is twelve. When Rory turns twelve, she realizes that a lot of the things she wanted don’t work out as she planned. She keeps trying because she is confident and determined to get what she wants. This reminds me of Josie because on Josie’s sixteenth birthday, she thinks things are going to go her way.

Percy Jackson: sea of monsters by Rick Riordan

The book that I'm reading is "Percy Jackson : sea of monsters", and I really like it because it activates the readers imagination.
My favorite character is Percy Jackson that is the main character and the hero in the story, I really like that he always cares about the things that are important to his friends, and himself, and he is very brave, and despite his dad (Poseidon) let's him down or doesn't respond to him, he never gives up on saving Olympus, and fighting against Luke (son of Hermes), and he is a very adventures, and curious.
Somehow percy is the super-man or spider-man for the half bloods and gods.
Percy has problems with his reading because he has dyslexia and when he touches water and when he is in the ocean or the sea he is has more power and can heal his scars and injuries.
Riptide that is a ballpoint pen is actually his sword that was given to him by his dad and at the last parts he uses it to destroy Kronos(Titan god) to retrieve the Golden Fleece for saving Thalia's tree.

Forsaken Home by A. American

When the power goes out in the United States, Morgan Carter, his family, and his friends must protect themselves while the crazy people trying to survive raid everyone, killing anything and everyone in  order to get food, water, and supplies necessary to survive this collapse of the natiob's power grid.


Morgan is a family guy who will do anything to protect them. He is also a leader and takes charge in his group. While getting raided by a group of bandits, Morgan desperately tries to protect his 3 daughters and his wife, but his second oldest daughter, Lee Ann, was shot in the leg after taking a bullet in the arm himself for his littlest daughter, Littlebit.  Morgan and his friends end up killing the bandits but are left in astonishment about the random attack. Both Lee Ann and Morgan survive.


Morgan reminds me of a character named Percy Jackson from the series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Percy contains the trait of leadership. He takes charge of everyone to keep them safe as well, and Morgan does the same thing.

QB1

 In book QB1 by Mike Lupica my favorite character is Jake Cullen. Jake shows in the book his great determination to follow his family legacy. Jake has to prove to his family and team  he had the arm to be quarterback for  Granger Cowboys. Jake has the pressure of his older brother Wyatt. Jake's best friend Nate had more confidence in Jake then, Jake had in himself. Jake believed he had talent but not Cullen talent not that he realized . Jake believes he isn't going to be the player his dad or his big brother had been for the cowboys. Jake has to live up to the family legacy of his dad and older brother and be the best he can. I really enjoyed this book it shows that Jake Cullen had to try to follow in his dads and brothers foot steps and be the quarterback for the Granger Cowboys. They refer to Jake like Eli Manning and Wyatt like Payton Manning.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

        Meet Mia-your cello playing, family girl who has it all. A great, loving family; a semi-famous boyfriend; and a chance to go to Julliard. She had it all, but that all changed one afternoon... the afternoon she lost it all. She lost part of her family, she might lose her boyfriend, and she might lose her opportunity at Julliard... all because of one snowy afternoon. And now she's expected to choose whether to stay or leave. At seventeen years old, she's expected to choose whether she lives or dies.

        I like Mia. She's different than most girls her age and from her family. She cares tremendously about her family. She's outgoing, she knows what she wants. She knew that she wanted to play the cello when she first saw it; she knew she didn't want to be a rock chick and be like her father, but a cellist.

        "I need to find Teddy! Where is he?" These were the thoughts that ran through Mia's head after the crash. After she finds both of her parents, she sets out to find her younger brother. I like this because she's concerned for her whole family; she had found her mother and father, and now she needs to find her little brother. Like Lilo and Stitch once said, "Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." Mia isn't going to stop until she knows where Teddy is.

        "I brush off my hands onto my skirt and walk into the road to find them." This quote is from after the crash, Mia gets up and brushes herself off and then sets out to find her family. This shows how Mia cares about her family and their whereabouts and safety. "I know it's silly but I have always wondered if Dad is disappointed that I didn't become a rock chick. I'd meant to. Then, in third grade, I'd wandered over to the cello in music class-- it looked so human to me." This quote shows how Mia intended to become a rock chick and follow in her father's footsteps, but then she laid eyes on the cello and it looked so familiar and welcoming to her. It shows how once she gazed upon the magnificent instrument, she knew she was meant to play it.

        I would compare Mia to Hazel Grace from The Fault In Our Stars. Mia is like Hazel and Hazel is like Mia. They both had to make difficult choices at such young ages. Hazel had to choose whether or not to let people other than her parents in or not. She didn't want to let them in because she knew that she had a greater chance at dying young due to her cancer and that they would end up getting hurt, but then she met Augustus and had to rethink her decision. Mia has an even bigger decision to make. She has to choose between life and death. She has to choose whether she stays or whether she leaves. If she stays, she would be without her mother and father to guide and love her. But if she leaves, she would have to leave behind Teddy and her boyfriend, Adam. All she knows is that, whether she stays or goes, someone is going to be left behind. How is a seventeen-year-old girl supposed to choose between life and death? Between her parents and her brother and boyfriend? What will she choose?

The Boys of The Winter ( Miracle ) by Wayne Coffey.

          Before I talk about my favorite part of the book, I dedicate this writing to Robert Allen Suter, who played for the American Olympic team. An was on the ice during its memorably 4-3 upset win over a powerful Soviet Union ( Russians ) in 1980. The Soviets had won every gold metal in hockey since 1964. I do this because Rob had just recently passed away on Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 from a heart attack.
          So my favorite part of this book is "The Boys of The Winter", Herb Brooks the coach and a former player on the 1960 Olympic team, was just days before the Olympics started, Jack Riley the head coach, tapped Herb Brooks 22 years of age on the shoulder and told him to go home. In the fall of 1978, Herb applied for the Olympic coaching job and was awarded the head coaching job by the Olympic committee. 
        When his team was picked, he put the USA team in an exhibition series against NHL ( National Hockey League ) clubs. When facing them, there where three low points: a 9-1 thumping by the St. Louis Blues, 1-0 loss to the AHL's ( American Hockey League ) Adirondack Red Wings, and most maddening of all to the coach, a 3-3 tie in Norway in mid-September. When they lost Herb said "If you don't want to skate during the game then you'll skate after it," he wasn't kidding to the players. An so they did, the team lined up on the goal line, and was told to skate Brook's dreaded Herbies. Herbies are when you start from the goal line, then to the Blue line, then back, then to the Red line in the middle, then back, then to the far Blue line, and back, then to the far goal line, and back. The crowd filled out and they skated, the custodian turned out the lights and they still skated. George Nagobads, the teams physician urged Herb to stop, but they skated. Close to an hour the boys skated, then, the next day the played again and won 9-0.
         The reason why I like that part is because, Herb Brooks is a man who wants to win as a team not individuals. He doesn't want/like to lose, so he trains his team to win as team and be better in better shape than the other team. An play like your playing a Championship game that is what I like about this book and Herb Brooks.

  Ryan McFadden

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

One of the recent books I read was The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I literally could read this book everyday for two years and never get sick of it. 

Throughout this book, I figured out that my favorite character is Augustus Waters. I wish every guy in the whole world acted like him. The reason why he was my favorite was because he knew how sick Hazel was and even though he was sick he still put Hazels needs before his. My favorite quote that Augustus said that made me so happy for Hazel was "I'll fight it. I'll fight it for you. Don't you worry about me, Hazel Grace. I'm okay. I'll find a way to hang around and annoy you for a long time.” Augustus knew how sick he was and he did not know how much time he had left but he still cared so much about Hazel and that is what made him my favorite character.

Out of a thousands of scenes, it is a very hard to pick two. My absolute favorite scene in the book is when Augustus used his wish on Hazel to go to Amsterdam. Although the visit with Peter Vanhousen was not the best, they had a very romantic time and enjoyed being together. Augustus really did not have to do this, and this scene describes how much Augustus cared for Hazel and how much he loved her.

Another one of my favorite scenes is when Hazel and Augustus met. When they met at support group, they instantly clicked like a lock clicks when you close your locker. They were attracted like a north and south pole magnet. After that day, they became closer and then ended up being soul mates. I love Augustus in this scene because if it was not for him, Hazel would of still probably felt uncomfortable about herself and she would not want to talk at all during support group. Augustus brought out Hazels inner happiness and changed her life forever.

Augustus Waters reminds me of Troy Bolton from High School Musical because they both care about the people they love. For example, even though Troy Bolton did not want to do the school play, he did it because he loved Gabriella Montez and thats what she wanted to do. When you love someone so much, you would do anything for them and even if you do not want to do something that they want to do, you do it anyway. Augustus waters was not extremely interested in An Imperial Affliction, but he read it because Hazel wanted him too. People go out of their way for love and Troy Bolton and Augustus Waters were true examples of this.

Wringer

I like Palmer because of the way its sounds. Palmer also has a nickname and that is Snots. I like Palmer because he is very sneaky and unique. Palmer has joined the gang as a nine year old. He is with the guys. they do things that his mother would probably not be proud of.  "I like their presents just as much as I like yours. This means that his friends gifts are just as important to him as the ones his mom wrapped and put ribbons on. Palmers gang means more to him then the presents his mom got him. I like palmer because he is a little emotional. He started to tear up when his family and friends came to his house for his 9th Birthday. I also like palmer because he is smart. He knows that that the soccer field brings horror and when the gang wants to go to the park and play with his gift of the soccer ball that his mom got him. He is smart and stays home. I made a connection with Palmer by loving to get nicknames. His is snots and it is very cool. I do like the character Palmer because he is unique and sneaky.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

In the book, The Fault in Our Stars, I like the character Hazel.  Hazel has thyroid cancer with mets in her lungs, and she has to have an oxygen tank in order to breathe.  She was first diagnosed with cancer when she was thirteen years old.  Her parents had pulled her from school, and she hasn't been in school for 3 years.  Hazel is depressed, (according to Hazel, "depression is a side effect of dying", not of cancer) so she goes to a cancer support group weekly.  There, she meets a new friend named Augustus Waters.

She has to endure the many struggles of cancer.  The reason why I like Hazel is because she is so brave and tough.  She has gone through many different cancer treatments and has pulled through them all.  Hazel says, "But when telling Augustus Waters, I painted the rosiest possible picture, embellishing the miraculousness of the miracle."  This is what she says after telling Augustus Waters about her cancer "miracle".  This shows that Hazel is grateful for her "miracle", and she is happy to be alive after all that she has been through.  This is also why I like this character.

One scene that I liked in the book was when Augustus told the Support Group that he feared oblivion. The leader of the group said, "Would, uh, would anyone like to speak to that?" Hazel spoke up and made a deep little speech saying "...if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it."  Augustus was wowed by what she had said.  I like how Hazel decided to speak her mind and she was very straightforward about it.  Another scene in the book that I liked was when Augustus pulled out a cigarette and put it into his mouth.  Hazel did not like this at all.  She told Augustus that he has the chance to get more cancer after he already had it, and that it stinks not being able to breathe (Hazel pretty much knows how it feels like to not be able to breathe).  Then, Augustus tells her that he never lights the cigarettes, it's just a metaphor.  He says "...You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing."  I think that is a very clever metaphor.  I also like how Hazel always openly states her opinion about things, and she is not afraid to do so.  This also proves that she is brave.  Hazel has many great qualities, which is why I like her as a character.

I think Hazel is like a fifteen year old girl named Lina in a book called Between Shades Of Gray that I once read. Lina's family was taken from their home in Lithuania and deported by the Soviet secret police.  Lina endures brutal conditions at several working camps, and she must find a spark of hope that she will be freed some day in order to survive.  Lina is like Hazel because they are both brave and tough.  They each experience different hardships, but in the end, their braveness and toughness help them pull through and survive.

Lost

One character I like is a girl named Essie because she tries to find herself,and she tries to be happy. She does not let her mom get in the way of her being in love with her neighbor next door. She also tries to fix her friendship, but its not working out and she does not know who is lost, if its her or her friend.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Hazel Lancaster was diagnosed with stage five Thyroid cancer when she was thirteen years old. She was supposed to die when a miracle happened and she live. Four years later her mom and doctor are making her attended cancer support groups because her mom believes she's depressed and wants her to make friends. Hazel is home schooled so her mom and dad are her only friends. Well at a cancer support groups she meats Augustus Waters who is a smart, corky, and all about life.

I feel as I relate to Hazel by her name. Instead of Augustus calling her Hazel he calls her Hazel Grace. He ties in her middle name instead of keeping in simple. Many people call me Mary Mulvey or by my full name Mary Murphy Mulvey instead of just Mary. Both of our names flow very well together. I was quickly drawn to Augustus's humor. He sort of had this smart and quick sense of humor and that reminded me on my dad. Both are very intelligent and both are always looking for a way to make a joke. There was never a dull moment with Augustus and that seems the same was with my father.

A Storm of Swords

        Cersei Lannister is a character that isn't a good person in any sense of the word, but her character depth, in my opinion, makes her one of the most interesting characters. She is originally shown to be the antagonist by many of the characters with a narrative point of view in the story, Which she is to a certain extent, but she has motives and emotions other than hatred which you occasionally see in writing. She has character depth.

     
         The author does an amazing job at giving her actual motives, rather than just "I hate these people so I am going to ruin their lives", he actually shows why she does those things, and even though they're self centered and cruel.

      Cersei makes the majority of her decisions based on self preservation, the survival of her house, and her family. Unlike ther characters in the book like Ned Stark who is in the series for the first book in the series, whose honor is his most defining characteristic. She clearly isn't concerned about that.

      Despite her seeming amorality she shows her emotions behind her decisions, like when she is trying to keep her daughter, Myrcella, from being sent away to Dorne where it was unknown what would happen to her. "The Dornish hate us (the lannisters) they want to see our heads on spikes and you offer up my daughter to them?!". The seemingly non-violent motive of protecting her children can bring out her cruelty. Like when her son, Joffery, was killed at his wedding.  She then started looking for someone to blame, to punish, for her sons murder.

       Throughout the series she has proven, despite her being a terrible person, she has motives and is a deep character. I look forward to seeing how her character develops throughout the rest of the series.

           

Taken

     My eighteeth birthday is in a month, the only thing Gray Weathersby could think about as day after day went by. In Claysoot, every boy vanishes on his eighteenth birthday with no trace of how they were abducted..
     As soon as I read the first five pages, I immediately attached myself to Gray as I love his first name. Gray, to me, sounds like a very tough name, like a large grey wolf scouring the snow basin for anything it can get it's paws on. I also love his personality as it almost reminds me of mine; strong and brave hearted while also couragous and caring. Although, Gray also is very violent and he never seems to think through situations. Gray finds himself in a serious problem as his eighteenth birthday is coming up and he has to make a big decision. He either has to take a risk and see what lies after the wall,because of a note his mother left him, or be taken by the unknown.
    All throught the first quarter of the book, Gray searches and searches for answers but always seems to come up empty as to what lies beyond the great wall. Gray never gives up and is so determined to find out what's on the other side. Gray is more the 'speak before thinking' kind of guy where he'll say whatever is on his mind, or do anything he thinks of. Gray decides to leave the wall and search for whatever he can find with his love life Emma. They're thrown into many dystopians, or fictional societies used to draw attention to world issues in society or environment, and quickly realizes that most dystopians are just like his own, the bad guys being easy to figure out, except there's no abduction of young men on their eighteenth birthday.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My favorite character in the book, Fangirl, is Cath, who is the main character. Cath, and her twin sister, Wren, are both fans of a book series called Simon Snow, and they write fanfiction about it. They do almost everything together and they are best friends.

As they get older, Wren seems to be growing away from the Simon Snow fandom. When they go to college, Wren decides not to be Cath's roommate, and thinks that she and her sister should meet new people. "Cath was sitting at the foot of the bed, trying not to look like the Pathetic One Who Always Cries. 'This is college,' Wren persisted. 'The whole point of college is meeting new people.'" (Page 6) Cath is not used to being somewhere new without her sister on her side at every moment.

Cath reminds me of a character from another book where the main character had a best friend who she did almost everything with, but she had to move. She learned to make new friends and not stay away from everyone else, even though she is upset about moving and doesn't know anybody where she moved. The reason that Cath reminds me of this character is that her situation seems very similar to the character's.

I like this character because she realizes that the world is not over just because she is not always with her twin sister anymore and is being told that she needs to grow up and meet new people. She makes new friends and meets new people without having Wren always on her side or thinking that she needs to leave the Simon Snow fandom and stop writing fanfiction in order to do that.

A Game of Thrones

     The intensity, detail, and suspense of this book and series starts off quickly even in the prologue.  In this first book, the noble Stark family is pushed to its limits when divided into the north and the south after Lord stark is called upon to be The Hand of the King.  The antagonists are made out to be the Lannisters, quite quickly, after Prince Jamie, The Kingslayer, pushes Ned Stark's son, Bran, out a window, paralyzing him.

     Ned Stark is the Lord of Winterfell, a strong leader made from the winters that can last years, who will make whatever choices necessary for the well being of his people and family.  I loved the character Ned Stark because his sense of honor always pushed him to do the right thing in his mind. The author George R.R. Martin gives the character a huge amount of depth and a great back story with King Robert that allows the reader to understand their relationship very well.  To be able to know a character like Ned so well it is devastating to lose him, after being in such a short part of a large story, and to see his family set on the path to destruction, was painful.

     Though his time in the larger story line of the Lannisters vs the Starks was short lived his effect on others character and the secrets he took to his grave will surely carry on.  I don't think I have ever encountered  a character quite like Ned and I'm excited to see how his death and other factors of his demise play roles later on in the book and the next books.

We Were Liars

When I first started this book I thought it was really boring and couldnt stay focused on reading the book, but as I got further into the book my appeal for the book increased. The main character in the book is Cadence Sinclair Eastman. Her and her family live on a private island off the coast of
Massachusetts, in the summertime. When it isnt summer she lives in Burling, Vermont, with her mother and three dogs, and she is eighteen years old. Cadence is caring, easygoing and intelligent. Her features were passed down through generations. She is a strong and tall young woman and unfortunately got into an accident. Her story starts the summer of June at the age of fifteen when her dad leaves her and her mother. I like this character because she is caring. In one scene in the book she is living on the private island in Massachusetts and her friend Gat wants to take a moterboat out. On the other hand she doesnt want to. She asks him why he cant just take it out himself but he feels like he cant borrow it because he doesnt feel right. However, Cadence is a selfless and caring girl and she takes it out because he wanted to go out. I feel that her actions show that she is caring. Overall, so far, I like this book and im looking forward to seeing what the big twist is that i keep hearing about at the end.

The book Fallout by Ellen Hopkins finished the trilogy about Kristina Haskins, a girl - now woman - who had a once-promising childhood that was completely shut down after a court-ordered visit to her father's house which led to an introduction to crystal meth when she was in high school. The points of view from her oldest three of five kids, Hunter, Autumn, and Summer, described the consequences of Kristina's long string of bad choices, including drug trafficking, robbery, and multiple bad relationships, using meth the entire time. The almost-fully-grown kids lay out the problems they had developed because of their mother's bad habits and how it affected their lives, as well as how isolated they were from their relatives, from facts, and from each other, because of Kristina's history as well as each of their fathers. Crank and Glass were about the start and development of one hard life, but this story shows just how much more than a single person can be affected by the fallout from drug use, realistic as these tales are unfathomable.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

    My favorite character in this book is Dudley Dursley. He is my favorite character because whatever he does is funny. The way the author describes him adds humor to the story. For example, she describes him as, "... blonde, pink, and porky." Dudley is spoiled rotten by his parents. While Harry gets morsels of hard bread and cold soup, Dudley gets a hearty breakfast with extra bacon. My favorite part of the story is when Harry and the Dursleys go to their house by the sea on Harry's birthday. Harry didn't get a single present from anyone. When Harry's very tall friend from Hogwarts, Hagrid, comes with a cake for Harry the Dursleys panic. As Hagrid and Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were talking, Dudley was eating the unattended cake. When Hagrid found out, he gave Dudley a pig's tail.

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY 

When I first started reading this book I thought the point of view and the characters would be totally different, but I've only read less than half of the book I'm glad its not what I expected. The main character Clay Jensen is very popular in his school, but he now has to keep half of his life a secret. 

Hannah Baker, a girl Clay barely knew, commits suicide, but before she does she leaves everyone she thinks lead her to killing herself some tapes. These tapes are what exactly what the person did to her and why it made her feel horrible, but Clay has no idea what he did wrong. He is so obsessed with making people like him,and makes sure he pleases people."And what about me? What did I do? How will Hannah say that I scarred her? Because I have no idea. And after people hear about it, what are they going to think when they see me? Some of them, a least two of them, already know why I'm on here. Do they see me differently now?"(page 41) This is when you know Clay does care what EVERYONE  thinks of him. I don't really know if that's a good or bad quality to have, being nice to people is a good thing, but the way Clay looks at it is kind of too much.

Hes being very secretive, but I can understand why. There is this one scene where he goes over a friends for a little I guess just to see each other and the only thing he could think about is what he just listen to, Hannah's tape, but he could not say a thing to his friend, there could be a lot of bad things that  could come out if he decides to tell him or just any person in  general. There was also another scene where he is listening to the tape so quietly with some headphones and when his mom comes in Clay gets so scared, he doesn't even tell his mom what it is and tries to get her out of the room.
He convinces his mom its just a school project. I can get why Clay makes the decisions, its just because he is very scarred of what will happen. He kind of reminds me of Harriet The spy because he is very secretive and goes around places just like Harriet. Over all Clay is okay for being the main character. 

       

        

The book I read was "if I stay" by Gayle Forman.  The character is Mia. I think I like the character. she is supper friendly and she loves her family and her boyfriend. she cares for people she loves. she doesn't usually ask for stuff like teens would. I like the part when she went on a family vacation. but they don't make it the whole ride. it was a snow day and the mom or dad didn't have work and the kids didn't have school. Mia had only one brother. they weren't in the car for that long. Mia liked long car rides.

The Angel Experiment

I really like Max in the book. I like Max because she has to lead a group of half human and bird that she calls her family to save the world. Max is very fearless and being the leader of something is very challenging. My favorite part in the book is when the Erasers (Mutant killers) come and capture angel. I like this because everyone in the group tried to defend themselves and each other. Although Angel got captured I really like this scene because it showed a very heroic moment

Dragon Ball Z

The character that I really like is Goku. Goku being the greatest fighter through out the series is the type of character that everyone looks up to and wants to be. The main reason I really like Goku is because I can relate him to my cousin, who I look up to, Jarit. Through out the series so far Goku has always shown up to save everyone from the evil things that oppose him and even earth itself. Being brave and having pride in himself brought him to never let his friends be in danger by anything that opposed him he always made sure that no matter what everything would be protected and people would live peacefully, and that is how I feel about my cousin who always protected me and never let anything oppose me. This is what brings Goku to be my favorite character

If I Stay

      The character that I really like is Mia. I feel like Mia and I both love our families so much. I would never be able to live with out my mom and dad. I really enjoy reading about the car accident scene. All though it is very sad and emotional I think that it is so cool how she see everything going on and knows everything that is happening. For instance, during the car accident she saw how her father passed right away. " I find my mom next...There's almost no blood on her, but her lips are already blue and the whites of her eyes are completely red, like a ghoul from a low-budget monster movie". Knowing that both of her parents are dead is devastating, but also knowing about that is great too. If that was me knowing that both of my parents are both dead I don't know what I would do I don't think I would be able to live without them.   

The Soloist

The soloist is a book about a man named Nathanial who plays the violin amazingly. Nathanial dropped out when he got accepted to Juliard because he became schitzophrenic . I really like him because everyone looks at him playing on the street looking ratty, as a piece of garbage. When really he plays the violin amazingly. There was one scene where a journalist saw him, instead of looking down upon him, he looked through that and saw the beauty in him and saw that he did have problems but was an amazing human and violinist. I also like the journalists character because he tries to help nathanial.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood-Prince by J.K Rowling

     I like Harry Potter because he's fearless.  He always stands up for his friends.  In the book Harry was convinced early on that Malfoy was a Death Eater. Malfoys dad was in prison and Harry believed that Malfoy was taking his place in the ranks.  Harry's friends did not believe him until much later in the book. Even facing that adversity, Harry remained determined to protect his friends from Malfoy.
     Another part of the book talked about how Harry defended Hagrid.  He never wanted Hagrid to get into any trouble.  When Hagrids friend, the acromantula named Aragog, died and Slughorn found out, Harry made sure that Hagrid was not going to get into any trouble.
     This character, Harry Potter, reminds me of Gregory from Diary of a Wimpy Kid because in the books he get tortured by his brother like Harry Potter gets tortured by the Slytherin kids and by Voldemort.  In the end, they both are made stronger.

eleanor & park by Rainbow Rowell

"XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus. Park pressed his headphones into his ears" (p1).

Because of that line, I think I fell in love with the character of Park the first time I met him. Park is this quiet guy, pretty dorky, who mainly keeps to himself, loves comic books and new wave music, and falls in love with crazy, red-haired, mixed-up family girl Eleanor.

Park is just a great character. His mother is a small Korean woman his father met during his service in the Korean War. He married her and then brought her to live in America. Barely five feet tall, and with a personality much bigger, Park's mother is a hairdresser and her salon is in the garage. It turns out, Park is quite adept at helping her, as he often does when she is setting a girl's hair for a dance or the prom-- he hands her bobby pins, the curling iron and gets whatever else she needs while working.

Park is a guy who is comfortable in his own skin, but not to the point of being obnoxious or unlikable about it. When Park's mother gives Eleanor a make-over, she shows every make up "thing" to Eleanor before she does it-- using Park as a human model. So Park ends up wearing eyeliner, and looking pretty good. And he decides to keep wearing it. It's 1986-- things like that were kinda cool then, remember.

I really love how the friendship between Eleanor and Park begins. Having nowhere else to sit on the bus, park finally slides over in his seat and yells to her to sit down (in more choice language than that). Every day she sits with him and looks at him, out of the corner of her eye, reading his comic books. Gradually, Park begins to move his books toward her and they read them together. Embarrassed, Eleanor has to admit she doesn't have a walkman or tapes to listen to, but she has so many songs she wants to hear. So Park begins slipping her comic books to read, and then lends her his walkman and makes her tapes of all the songs she wants to hear. And before long, he winds up head over heels in love with the crazy girl with a checkered past and dysfunctional home life.

I can't say I have ever encountered a character much like Park before-- popular, but not too popular. Comfortable being with his family, as well as being himself (the eyeliner incident). He's book smart, but he isn't a nerd. The author keeps him in that grey area, and I like that. No stereotypes.