Gathering Blue - blog post 1

I recently started reading Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. The book is kind of the sequel to The Giver, a book I enjoyed when I read it a few years ago. I only started the book a couple days ago and am just to page 12. The book is a little confusing because so far the author has not explained usual parts of the culture and traditions of the people in the book. It is not even clear when the book is meant to take place. As of page 12, I have learned about Kira, the main character, who is a recent orphan. A lot of the early pages are spent describing Kira mourning her mother by camping at her grave. Kira is afraid that she will be kicked out of the village because she was born with a mangled leg and cannot do hard labor. She has no one else in the village that will take care of her and her home was burned down so that the sickness that killed her mother doesn’t spread. She only has one friend, a tyke (child) named Matt. The other women in the village don’t like her and want to take her land from her. She is very scared that they will succeed. The book has been pretty good so far and I am excited to get into it more.

Gathering Blue - blog post 3

Kira has been working very hard on the robe that the singer will be wearing on the day of the gathering and Thomas has also been working hard preparing the shaft for the sing. When the gathering of the villagers finally happened and Kira has been introduced as the weaver of the future and Thomas the carver of the future. Now Kira’s friend Matt has brought her father from a far land that is not supposed to have existed who is said to have died years ago and holds the secret to find the long lost color blue. As Kira explains her mother’s fate she starts to learn of the cruelty of her village. Kira has the opportunity to follow her father back to the land of the people that her own and other village’s left for dead but decides to stay in the end. I think she does this because she feels as the fixer of the robe she has the power to change the future of the village. I found this book very interesting yet a bit dull I think that there are more exciting choices out there so I would not
necessarily recommend it.

A Northern Light

Right now I am halfway through the historical fiction novel A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. So far, I'm really liking it. The book is set in the early 1900s, from the point of view of sixteen year old Mattie Gokey, when a body of a girl turns up in the lake near the hotel she works. So far, Donnelly has been weaving two stories from Matties point of view into the book. The first one is the chain of events that leads up to Mattie working at the hotel, while the other is what Mattie is doing after the girl dies. Every chapter or so the view point is switched. I think this is a really unique way to write a story, and so far it's working really well. I want to know what Mattie's doing with the letters that the dead girl gave her, but at the same time I want to know how she got to working at the hotel when her father was so strict about having Mattie take care of the farm since her mom died and with her brother gone she's the next oldest. The author also does a great job of making the historical elements play a part in the story, but not one that's blatantly out there, like the author wrote it straight out of the 1900s with no other thought that culture could be different.
My favorite part of the book has to be Mattie's "word of the day". Mattie is a writer, and each day she flips to a page of her dictionary and points to a word, which she then memorizes the definition of and tries to use it that day. The chapter titles of the days before working at the hotel are written as the words of the day, however when it's the hotel story there is simply no chapter title, which I think is just a really cool way to show that working at the hotel has changed Mattie, or maybe she just doesn't have time for the things she loves anymore.
I'm really excited to read the rest of this book.

Gathering Blue

’m reading Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. The first post I wrote was only upthrough page 12, but I am now up to page 106. Kira finds out from her little friend Matt that Vandara isgoing to try to get the Council of Guardians to kick her out of the village andgive the women her land for a place to pen in the village’s tykes (kids). The Council knows about Kira’s talentin weaving. They decide to giveKira’s land to Vandara and the other women, but Kira is saved for the job ofrepairing worn out parts of the Singer’s robe.


A little backgroundinformation:
The Singer is a person who sings a long song once ayear that describes the history of the villagers. The Singer wears a special robe has pictures of all the major eventsthat happened in the past. It isvery ancient and is kept in a special place. The Singer also carries a special shaft that has carvings onit to help him know where he is in the song.

Kira goes to live in a special part of the Council building,she is given all the tools and supplies she needs. Kira has a large living space with a real bathroom andrunning water, someone brings her good food. But there is one problem. She doesn’t know how to make the dyes needed for the threadsshe will be using since her mother died before she taught her. So Kira visits the person who worked onthe robe a long time ago and she teaches Kira how to make some of thedyes. Also living in the Councilbuilding is Thomas whose is assigned to work on the Singer’s shaft. Kira is not allowed to read or write(because she is a girl) so Thomas makes her a special box to store her threadsthat has pictures on it to help her remember which plants make whichcolors. There is a lot to rememberabout dying thread and Thomas helps by writing it down for her. She spends her days working on the robeand planning the garden she will plant to make dyes for her threads.

CAL

Goose Girl

I have just started reading the goose girl and so far it has been a great book. This book is slightly below my reading level but still a very good read. This book is about a young princess named Ani, who is about to become Queen, until her mother sends her away and gives Ani's brother the crown. Ani gets sent away to marry a king, not in her kingdom. It is a years journey to get to this kingdom, and on the way Ani is betrayed by her lady-in-waiting Shelia. Shelia's goal is to take Ani's title and marry the young king in Ani's name. Ani ran away from her party and is now lost in the woods trying to find a way out. That is my stopping point in the book.

The Hunger games

Katniss goes hunting for Peeta and eventually finds him. He is wounded and camouflaged in the muddy bank of a stream. She nurses him back to health and realizes that by playing up the romance angle, they can get gifts from sponsors. Eventually, Katniss and Peeta must face off with Cato, the only other surviving tribute, but before that they are all pursued by wild dogs which are actually genetically mutated killing machines. Finally, Katniss shoots Cato and he falls into the pack. They've won, right? Wrong. An announcer comes back on and says the rules have changed back: only one winner allowed. Katniss and Peeta can't kill each other, so they make a show of taking poisonous berries in an act of double suicide. Fortunately, the announcer comes back on before they can kill themselves, and says that they win. Katniss and Peeta keep up the star-crossed lovers routine for the post-games reunion and interview, knowing that this is the only way to keep from being punished by the Capitol for the rebellious trick with the poisonous berries. Eventually Katniss figures out that Peeta really is in love with her – he wasn't acting at all – and he figures out that she wasn't ever in love with him. Oops. As the train pulls into District 12, they put on a happy face for the camera, take each other's hands and step onto the platform.

The Hunger games

All 24 of the tributes are transported to the arena to fight it out. Katniss is on her own at first, but then she discovers that Peeta has teamed up with the Career Tributes – the strong kids from the rich districts in Panem who actually want to go to the Hunger Games. They eventually corner her in a tree, but she drops a tracker jacker nest on them (that's like a genetically mutated killer wasp) and scores a bow and arrow in the process. After this, Katniss teams up with Rue, a tiny girl from District 11 who reminds her of her sister Prim. The two are able to take out the Career Tributes' food supply, which totally infuriates their leader, Cato. Also, Peeta doesn't appear to be teamed up with them anymore. Where is he? Wounded? Unfortunately, Rue is killed around this time by one of the Career Tributes. Katniss honors her body by covering it in flowers. After Rue's death, the announcer, wanting to bring back the romance story between Peeta and Katniss, changes the rules of the game: two people from a single district can now win. Before she can stop herself, Katniss calls out Peeta's name….

Zombies vs. Unicorns

I read the book Zombies versus Unicorns several weeks ago and enjoyed it. It may have been a little above my reading level but I still enjoyed it. The book had a format of several short stories by authors such as Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier, Garth Nix, and many more. I personally have always been a HUGE fan of zombies and knew they would always be superior. But throughout the story, many of the Unicorn stories seemed cool to me. I thought they just pranced around on rainbows with flowers but was not aware they have some pretty cool powers like super speed and healing powers. I also like the view of Zombies. They weren't all just brain eating, mindless, monsters who would do anything to eat any human but had emotions. They interacted with humans in normal ways just also wanted to eat their brains. I really like the mac and cheese model a zombie used to describe its desire for humans. I really got a craving for mac and cheese because I was hungry and got a understanding of a zombies desire for brains. To summarize I would say this is a fun book, maybe a little explicit at times but worth reading.

All the Kings Men

All The Kings Men- by Robert Penn Warren

1^st Quarter – Period D

Crey Bankes

Moodle Entry:

September 5-11^th, 2011

I have chosen “All The Kings Men” for my first quarter literature reading assignment. The book was written by Robert Penn Warren, has received the Pulitzer Prize and is 661 pages in length. When searching for my first quarter reading, I looked through books of authors that I am familiar with – Dickens, Steinbeck and Paulsen . I chose my first quarter book because it is focused on early American politics and corruption. This will be the first time I have read a book on this topic.

This literary fiction begins in Mason City during 1936. The main characters introduced in the story are Willie Stark (Boss), Lucy Stark, Sugar Boy and Tommy (Willie’s son’s) and Mr. Duffy. The main character Jack Burden is narrating the story. The story begins with the main characters entering Mason City.

Willie Stark is the Governor and very well known to the locals. Although popular by political status, generally people did not like him. The first scandal involved Willie blackmailing the local judge Irwin to not run for Senate. The intimidation did not work on the judge. Willie tried to use his power to unveil a corrupt contract bid in the town for the school construction. He hoped to use this situation to gain votes in his election. The town people went opposite of Willies guidance on the construction. Willie did not get support and lost the election. He went back to the farm and continued to study law.

2 years after losing the first Senate election, the construction of the schoolhouse was not up to code and children were killed and crippled by a fire drill. This event gave Willie power and trust in the people of Mason City. He decided to use this change of luck and re-run for Senate.

Moodle Entry:

September 12th-18^th, 2011

An additional main character introduced this week during my reading is Sadie Burke. Sadie is a campaign manager helping Willie with running for governor. With the help of Duffy, Sadie and Duffy influenced Willie to run for office. Jack Burden, working for the Chronicle covers the campaign trail of Willie. Early into the road trip, Willie finds out that the only reason they have him running is to be a sacrificial lamb and throw off the votes in the rural areas. Willie, who historically does not drink, gets completely drunk.

He is due to give a speech at a rural town (Uptown, Louisiana). Willie feels that nobody listens to him while he gives his speeches. They should care but he thinks that they don’t care. He wants to be Governor so bad that he lies awake and thinks about it. Although corrupt in his own way, in this position he could help the hick people get equal opportunities. After realizing he is being used, he gives the best speech of his life- the truth. He tells the hick towns that the city folks want distraction so that they can vote in the rich and keep the poor without things. His dream is to build roads, schools, bridges and universities so that all people in the state of Louisiana have equal rights as the rich. His campaign quote to the rural / hick towns was “To nail em up”. What he meant by this was to overpower the rich vote and make a change in the state.

Moodle Entry:

September 19th-25^th, 2011

Politically the rich wanted to continue power in the state of Louisiana. The Chronicle, a local news outlet has historically supported Murphy. The media coverage by Jack Burden had been predominately on Willie Stark. Jack’s boss warned him that he was going against the grain and to watch out. Willie continued to travel to rural areas and gain support based on his desire to bring things to the poor people of Louisiana. Willie eventually won the state Governor seat by the largest margin ever recorded. Although he won, none of the votes came from people of political status or wealth.

Jack’s role in covering Willie’s campaign deeply upset his family, especially his mother. She declared that Willie Starks has waged a war against the rich folks of Louisiana and reminded Jack of his upbringings. Willie Starks campaign was to take money from oil and utility companies (state funds) to bring opportunities to the poor. His proposal was to tax the rich more heavily and to tax a portion of the state funds to build the bridges, schools and universities. Jack Burden reminded his family that Willie Starks would never have been voted in if the government would have done something sooner to support the under privileged. With all of the animosity that Willie was causing among the politicians and wealthy, they united in efforts and started a mission to get Willie impeached from office.

Moodle Entry:

September 26^th – October 8th, 2011

The initial impeachment efforts started with judge Irwin calling for a full investigation. Willie Stark and Jack Burden visit judge Irwin to influence him to stop the impeachment investigation. Irwin communicates to Willie Stark that he does not intimidate him. After judge Irwin said he was not intimidated, Willie tasked Jack to find dirt to blackmail Irwin with. The difficult part of this task is that judge Irwin raised Jack. He was a very close family friend. Judge Irwin married into an industrial family. He married Mebel Carruthers who came from a wealthy family. She died at age 33. Jack’s entire childhood was with Judge Irwin and his two children Adam and Ann Stanton.

The rich political party was trying to impeach Willie saying he had crooked behavior. Willie Stark went out to the public and declared that his crooks were less crooks than the electrical companies, oil companies and political folks. It was publically known that Willie wasn’t the most honest man. He cheated on his wife with several women to include Sadie. Willie continued to coral the poor people to challenge the rich to assist in the funding of roads and the betterment of Louisiana. Jack Burden continued to look for blackmail information for Willie but was unsuccessful.

Moodle Entry:

October 9^th- 16th, 2011

Jack continues to investigate Judge Irwin per Willies request. The hardest part of this assignment is that Jack grew up with Ann Stanton. He was in love with her. Jack finds out that Judge Irwin was taking bribes from electrical companies. The payoff for Judge Irwin was the position as the head of the banking council. Jack’s information about Judge Irwin came from the sister of Mr. Littlepaugh. He was the person that Judge Irwin replaced from the electrical company bribe. The sister had all the letters that described what was occurring. Although loyal to Willie, Jack did not tell him this information immediately.

Jack was failing in Willies eyes, he had to take his own action. Willie attempted to get close to Adam and Anne by offering Adam a job as director of Starks Medical Center and for Anne he donated money to her charity work. Willie felt that he could get to Judge Irwin through his children. This point in the book is when all goes bad.

Jack finds out through Sadie that Ann and Willie are together. This frustrates Jack because he was in love with her. Jack visits Judge Irwin and shows him the Littlepaugh letter and tells him to back off of the impeachment efforts.

Moodle Entry:

October 16^th- 23rd, 2011

The end of the book was really dramatic. Three people end up dying. When Judge Irwin is confronted by Jack, he takes his own life verses being exposed as a corrupt man. When Jack’s mother is phoned about Judge Irwin’s death, she freaks out. She tells Jack that he has killed his own father. During this same time, Adam is told that the hospital was a scam to get money from the state and that he was being used. Adam refused to be embarrassed and went to the state impeachment hearing to confront Willie. At the end of the hearing, when Willie was not impeached, Adam took out a gun and shot him at the Louisiana state capital building. During his shooting, Adam was taken down by Sugarboy. Both Adam and Willie died that day.

The story had a lot of twist and turns. It was discovered that Sadie was the source of information to Adam. The entire evil plot was due to Sadie being jealous of Willie running with several women to include Ann Stanton. The story ended the way it began, in that people used Willie to get political power. Duffy was sworn in as the Governor and Sadie taking a spot I support of him. Although Willie was not the most honest man and had bad behaviors, his term in office did help the poor people of Louisiana.

The Mysterious Benedict society

As I approach the end of the book, time is running out for Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance. The situation gets so risky and out of control that Mr. Benedict decides to take the children off the island. They resist, however, and stay on. Recently they have learned that Mr. Curtain, who is in charge of the Learning Institute for the very Enlightened, and is where they are doing there secret spying, has a big thought in mind. He is going to cause a huge problem, an Amnesia epidemic, and only he will be able to resolve the issue with people. He will use minesweepers and whisperers for this process, which Reynie and Sticky have had experience with one of the two, the whiperer. Time is running out, less that 3 days remains, but it's possible that their plan might work. If Reynie and Sticky can get their messaging session early, they Kate and Constance will be able to sneak up to the whispering gallery, while the boys are having their sessions. They will simply destroy the whisperer. If all goes well, it will be un-operational.

Just a note on the characters. Reynie, is a smart boy, who does exceedingly well on everything. Sticky, is slightly shy, but remembers everything he sees, hears, learns, etc. He also does very well on everything. (this is why there are the ones who are messengers.) Kate and Constance, therefor, aren't messengers. Kate is very creative and carries a bucket with her at all times, Constance is rather rude and complains often. She doesn't get along too well with everyone, but she manages it. Another neat thing is that Mr. Curtain is identically looking to Mr. Benedict.

Father Mother God

This is a very interesting book about a Wayzata Family who are christian scientists. Christian scientists believe in when they get sick they can't take medicine, because they believe that if they pray enough god will help them get better. The main character Lucia, doesn't really understand her families religious beliefs. There are no chapters in this book, it just jumps from one event in Lucia's life to the next. When she gets sick her mother sends her to her grandma's house and she thinks that the applesauce at her house tastes weird, but really her grandmother gives her asprin in the applesauce. Another time when Lucia gets chicken pox, she doesn't take any medicine, she just has to stay home until they are gone. She wonders why she can't because it will help her, so she just goes with what her family believes. Also when she got her ears pierced by her uncle Jack, a plastic surgeon, he told her to put some rubbing alchohol on her ears when she wakes up, after lunch, and when she goes to bed. But she wasn't sure if she was allowed to use rubbing alchohol, so she was very nervouse about her ears getting infected.

The Help

I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. All I have to say is wow. What an amazing book, I am so happy I chose to read this book. Personally I think Ms. Stockett did a fantastic job with capturing the essence of what it was like to be an African American woman and A white woman back during the 1950's. She did a great job of using southern slang and her southern flares to different words just made the book seem more realistic. I really liked how in the leading up to the last part of the book it started to feeling like it was reaching a resolution but instead it picked right back up into another climax. One of my favorite relationships to follow was between Stuart and Ms. Skeeter. Everything about that relationship just was so realistic from the horrible first date, to the awkwardly turned down wedding proposal. In this book there are many different narrators but they each seem to have a problem with what society thinks of them. All the white women just want the rest of the ladies at the country club to approve of them. The African American women just want to be accepted by the white women. Overall I absolutely loved this book and I recommend it to everyone!

The Ear, The Eye and The Arm

Right now I am about two thirds through The Ear,The Eye and The Arm, a strange book about the adventures of three kids in futuristic Zimbabwe in the year 2194. The book starts with the three children of General Matsika leaving on a quest to earn a scout badge, and see the outside world they have never been exposed to. Soon after they leave they are kidnapped and brought to a former trash dump, that has been turned into a town, ruled by a giant woman known as the She-Elephant. The kids eventually escape, but end up in a strange place that has been created to preserve ancient African culture. They want to leave, but it ends up being much harder then just walking out. During the whole ordeal, General Matsika has hired the strangest three detectives possible, to find the children. The children continue their quest, but now their goal is to return home. As I am writing this, that is what has happened so far. So far I have enjoyed the book, It’s a good change of pace to the other books I have been reading lately. It’s really different than anything I can think of that I have read. If you are a fan of light-hearted adventure stories, you would probably enjoy this book.

Outliers

Lately, for independent reading I have been reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In my opinion it is one of the best books I have ever read. At fist, I didn’t think that I would like it, but after reading it I was really impressed. Outliers, is a book about success. It talks about people who have obtained success, people who aspire to be successful and what causes success. The book talks about people from Bill Gates to the Beatles, how they became successful and what they had to do to get where they are now (or were). The book explores advantages that cause people to become star athletes, how all the top lawyers in New York are similar, and how your place of birth determines if you can be a successful pilot. One of the parts of the book I found most interesting was about how the month of your birth can affect if you become an athletic standout. Overall, I would say that Outliers was one of the best books I have ever read. I would definitely recommend you read it you will not be disappointed.

Maze Runner

I just finished the maze runner by james Dashner. In the end thomas and Teresa saved the whole group by figuring out the secret code. only about 40 people believed in their plan and of the 40 that went 20 died fighting the grievers. Also Thomas' first friend, Chuck, died saving him. Thomas had made a promise to chuck that he would solve the maze and find his mom. That is what got Thomas though the fight was trying to save chuck. Once they shut down the system the wicked people try to kill them but they are saved by another group. There is a sickness called the Flare that is killing everyone and that is why the kids were put in the maze, to try to cure the Flare.

Ian Flemings' From Russia With Love

Many might look at the title and think for a moment; and suddenly realize that it is the name of a movie, one from the infamous 007 James Bond. The second bond movie ever made in fact. So why, might you ask, would I choose a title that many have seen in theaters for my final reading check. Surely than It must be cheating; yet the story of the movie "From Russia With Love," and the storyline of the novel, are as different as Math and English; or a Brendan Fraisure Movie.

The story is not so much about action, but espionage during the cold war. During the first half of the book, we get a small background of the much more adventurous second half. It is about a secret Russian organization by the name of SMERSH; an organization based on killing foreign spies. During the first half we meet the murderer,an Irish Communist by the name of Red Grant(code name Granite), and in the second half we meet Bond.

He is sent by M to Turkey where he meets the head of the Turkish secret service. He is then assigned to a soviet spy who even the Turk said was beautiful. At the point I'm at they had just boarded the Orient Express and have had the first real fight and of course, Bond won. I have still got quite a bit left in the book but I am exited to read the rest of it.

The Eleventh Plague: By Jeff Hirsch

The Eleventh Plague is a post-apocalyptic book about a boy who lives in America after it has been destroyed by a terrible war between China and the United States that resulted in the death of two thirds of the U.S. population. The reason so many people died is because China infected America with a new disease that spread rapidly and killed many people. The disease (called P Eleven) spread to Canada and Mexico as well, killing millions. After the war, a period known as the Collapse occurred. THere was no longer government, electricity, cities, laws, or anything like that. The story takes place after this awful war, and centers around the life of fifteen year old Stephen Quinn. After his overly serious grandpa dies, Stephen and his dad travel the U.S. by themselves, looking for anything they can find to trade for essential supplies, like food and clothing. After a horrible accident puts Stephen's dad into a coma, Stephen is forced to travel with some strangers to a small settlement that has survived the war, and the Collapse. This place is called Settler's Landing, and it seems pretty nice to Stephen, who only knows the life of a poor scavenger. But after he meets Jenny, a rebellious girl in the settlement, they get into trouble and cause a huge misunderstanding which leads to fights with another settlement, called Fort Leonard.

This is an excellent book, especially if you enjoy post-apocalyptic stories. It is a bit depressing at times, but is also interesting because it can really make you think about how may things we take for granted in our everyday lives. I have nearly finished the book, and look forward to reading the ending.

The Zookeeper's Wife Finished

About a week ago, I finished The Zookeeper's Wife. This post will only be about the rest of the book. Pretty soon after page 100, Jan and Antonia start hiding Jews in their zoo. Jan also does other work for the polish underground, the group that supports Jews during Nazi Poland, including blowing up trains and poisoning Nazi beef. The rest of the book is pretty much about what happens during the time of the polish underground. This includes sections on how Jan or Antonia get Jews out of Warsaw, and it also includes sections on some of the visionary people who go through the zoo on there way to get out of Poland. Overall, I think that this was a well written book, although it wasn't really exciting.

The Happiness Project

On the Final reading check I still find myself reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. The more I read and the closer I get to happiness and it seems weird but the happier I get. Being intrudoced to more of her commandments to be happy or find the true meaning of happiness and go into depth about each one really helps me find happiness. I’m not sad or depressed it is more fun to be happy and know what you I can do to help or to promote happiness. According to Ms. Rubin everybody cannot have the same meaning of happiness you have to find your own, which really sticks in the back of your mind thinking what can I do better, I know what I can do but how. This sounds redundant towards my last blog post, but it is that important and I am still reading and I am learning more. But I can’t tell you the ending and the true meaning of happiness to you and yourself, you should read it for yourself it is well written through the time of the year. I highly recommend it and who doesn’t want to know the true meaning of happiness.

Sammy Clark

Dead Until Dark by Charlainne Harris

Dead Until Dark about a telepath named Sookie Stackhouse who has been longing to meet a vampire since last year they "came out of the coffin". Vampires have been accepted into society and are mainstreaming or trying to live the life of humans. Not all of the town members accept vampires and they would have been executed if the Japanese hadn't have come up with something called True Blood. True Blood is a synthetic creation that has the same components as normal human blood, which allows the vampires to live without killing. A vampire comes to the bar where she works and Sookie immeadiatley knows what he is. She reads the minds of the Rattrays and realizes they plan on draining him of his blood in the parking lot. She runs to his rescue and saves him. They start a relationship after, he talks to her grandmother about the civil war and about their ancestors. Then the murders begin, somebody is targeting girls that have been with vampires and stranguling them. Someone was trying to go after Sookie but kills her grandmother instead. Then her co-workers start to disappear. The vampire Bill takes her to a Vampire Bar called Fangtasia. There she tries to talk to the Viking vampire Eric, who is bemused by her because she looks and her presence is different then others. She realizes the bar is about to get raided by a police officer who found a vampire draining a girl in the bathroom. Sookie tells Eric and they all leave safely. He commands her presence again because someone embezzled $60,000 from him. She finds the vampire who did it, his friend and bartender Long Shadow. He attacks her and Eric stakes him. Bill then tries to run for owner of vampire region 6 so that he can be on the same level as Eric so that he is no longer ordered around. He wins! Then Sookie is chased down by the killer and almost killed. She is rescued and cured by the vampire doctor Bill.
The series continues.

Moneyball

The rest of the story is about how a low market team could win with all of their all-star players gone. Billy Beane is now the GM of the Oakland A's and trying to win. The A's start out very cold out of the gate, and some people wonder when Billy Beane will be fired. But they start making the right moves and catch fire. In the process of this they win 20 games in a row, and MLB record. They make it to the Conference finals where they are eliminated by the Minnesota Twins. In the offseason Billy Beane is offered millions of dollars which he turns down because winning is not everything. The famous final quote is “Billy Beane is still looking for that last win.” Billy Beane’s daughter sings “you’re such a loser, Dad” repeatedly while the quote plays.

Catching Fire

I recently started the second book of the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire. Catching fire is about what happens post Hunger Games, and how Peeta and Katniss get along once their "act" is over. Right now, I am at the part where Katniss and Peeta have just returned from the Hunger Games tour. The tour is when the winner(s) of the Hunger Games travel to each of the 12 districts to give their thanks. While on the tour, Katniss realizes that her actions have caused many uprises that have resulted in many deaths and conflicts. Right before they left for the tour, the President arrived at her house to tell her if she "blows her cover" that something bad will happen to her. She is terrified about whats going to happen to her and her family if the President comes for her. So far the book has been really interesting, and I can't wait to find out what happens later in the book!

Scorpia Rising

Recently I finished the final installment in the Alex Rider series, Scorpia Rising. Alex and M16 have started drifting their separate ways, Alex back to school, M16 back to espionage. But after the terrorist organization Scorpia is believed to be causing commotion in Cairo, and there is a school that seems as if it might be a target, M16 has no choice but to send Alex in again. This time won't be so easy for Alex though, as Scorpia is waiting for him in Cairo.

Alex suffers through immense hardships in his life. His mom and dad are killed when he is very young, his uncle is killed when he is 14, and now he lives with his closest companion, his nanny Jack. Alex has to make a tough decision in letting Jack come with him this time, the first time she has come along, risking losing his life-long friend and mentor. Their relationship is tested when she is captured, and Alex has to make a choice between her and his home country England.

I recommend that you read the whole series, especially this book.

Calder Games post #3

I have recently been reading the book The Calder Games By: Blue Baliett. Where I left off with the last post was where Calder’s father announced that they were going on a trip to London England. Once they get there the immediately notice something peculiar. In the town square they notice one of Alexander Calder’s (Calder the main character was named after him) miraculous sculptures. This seems weird to them since Alexander Calder is more of a modern type of artist, yet he is found in such a different and old atmosphere. Later on in the book after getting settled into their rooms and exploring the beauties of London, they were talking to Miss Knowsly the head women of the place they are staying at and getting settled in. After that on a mysterious night Calder finds himself in the hands of a stranger. When his dad wakes up in the morning and realizes he’s gone he panics. Doing this he manages to panic and call/contact anyone he can to help. Calders best friends Tommy and Petra fly all the way out to London to look for the lost boy.

Calder Games

I am continuing to read the book The Calder Games by: Blue Baliett. Recently Calder and his friends went to a museum to look at a man named Alexander Calder’s artwork with their class. Calder wonders off and finds a room in the museum where there is a game called the Calder Game that you can play. Meanwhile, Calder and his dad are leaving for a fun and exciting trip to England, so they say goodbye to their friends and head out for a fun and exciting adventure. When him and his dad finally arrived in London, they were really excited to visit and venture this unknown place to them. The first thing they did was find the town square, and to their surprise they find a sculpture by Alexander Calder, Calder and his father both wondered what such a new and exotic sculpture would be in an “another century” town. I am excited to continue reading and to figure out why the Alexander Calder sculpture is in the town square and how it ties together, and fits in with the book.

Detective Stories Chosen by Philip Pullman

I am currently finishing a selection of detective short stories picked by Philip Pullman, the author of The Golden Compass. They are not all set in the foggy streets of London or in English countryside Manors, their classic setting, but take the reader to the most unusual places ranging from Egypt, to Italy, to the Delta terminal in La Guardia.

These stories were written by some of the most famous Mystery authors, including Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, as well as some never associated with this genre like Isaac Asimov and Italo Calvino. Many of these stories are simple in nature but clever in the solution, while others are extremely sophisticated and filled with vital details. They vary not only in topic, but time and aura as well. Some are funny and some are chilling. One even contains a topic very closely related to my current math studies (Logic).

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read while in-between series. It does not necessarily have to be read all at once, as it contains many stories that do not need great concentration to follow.

Unbroken

This non-fiction story follows the life of young runner and WWII Veteran Louis Zamperini. He begins his life as a mischievous boy with a record of stealing and cheating. One large advantage he has however, is his speed. Whenever he is caught, all he does is run. This skill is one that will help him forever; he becomes a runner. From there his career lifts off, all the way to the Olympics, but just as he gets a taste of victory, he is cast off to the army, where he must start all over again. And even there, as he begins to feel the glory, his plane goes down and he must learn how to survive, deep in Japanese POW camps. This story taught me how to persevere and how to know what is most important in life.

I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a slightly challenging read that not only entertains, but teaches an extremely valuable lesson. Laura Hillenbrand does a wonderful job of immersing the reader into Louie’s life and making them feel part of the story.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain is now one of my favorite books. It only took me one day to read because it is so good. It is powerful, sad, happy, and memorable. Part of what makes the story so amazing is the fact that it is written from a dog's point of view. The dog, Enzo, describes his whole life and how he impacts his owner, Denny's life too. The main idea, or what the story revolves around is race car driving, for Denny is a professional race car driver. It is mostly about Deny and Enzo's bond throughout the story, and their friendship/love for each other remains strong even when Denny marries Eve, has a daughter named Zoë, when Eve becomes very ill, and, when Eve dies, the battle between Denny and his step-parents over Zoë's custody.

Enzo talks constantly about how he thinks he is a human trapped in a dog's body. He talks about how many more times he could have helped Denny if "god gave him thumbs and a voice." Enzo has a code with Denny throughout the book; if he barks twice it means faster. This applies to anything. What took me by surprise is that after Enzo thinks he served a purpose or made an impact on Denny, Eve, and Zoë's life, he wants to die so that he can become human in his next life. He fantasizes about what he will do in his next human life, but understands that he won't remember anything from his dog life. I don't want to give anything away, but I will just hint that Enzo and Denny meet after Enzo dies.

This heartwarming story makes you both laugh and cry. You will fall in love with its characters. This book is especially recommended for dog lovers. I hope that you will find time to read this life-changing book!

The Last of the Curlews

This book was recommended to me by my grandpa. It was his favorite book when he was about my age. The Last of the Curlews is a very complex, extremely detailed book where little action occurs. In the very small amount of pages, a member of the species of a bird called an Eskimo Curlew is in search for a mate. He tries but fails to distinguish a female of his own species. For his ancestors this was an easy task, but now almost all of the Eskimo Curlews have been shot by hunters. The book is about his search- how he traveled with a flock of smaller birds through harsh blizzards and storms, and mistakes other types of female curlews for his type. Finally, he finds a female of his very own kind- after years of searching, and they start a life together.

This book takes place all over the world, mostly in Europe. I'm guessing that the time era is around the 1940s. It is a really old, slow-moving and difficult-to-read book, but the scenery it describes is beautiful, and it helps you with your own writing.

Lucy Nelson 10/23/11

The Son of Neptune- Rick Riordan

I recentely finished the book The Son of Neptune, which is a continuation of the Heroes of Olympus series, which is a spin-off of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. In the novel, Percy arrives at the Roman camp with no memory of his life at Camp Half-Blood. He then meets Hazel and Frank and he goes on a mission to save the new camp. They have to travel to Alaska to attack the giant who made Alaska his home. All throughout the book, Percy has experiences that help recall his memory, like meeting Nico Di'Angelo, again. The group of three had to fight against gods, basilisks, and even Amazon warriors. Their quest to Alaska was to free the god of death, Thanatos, from the giants chains. Without him, any monsters that demigods killed just came right back to life because Gaea showed them escape routes from tartarus, which is the place in the underworld where monsters go once they've been killed. Percy learns more about his companions on his journey, like how Hazel has the gift of pulling precious gems from the ground, but it can be perceieved as a curse because they kill anyone that touches them. Frank's life depends on a stick, and when it burns, he dies. The trio complete their quest, saving Thanatos, and return to camp in time for the battle between the giant who was created to kill Neptune, and the camp. They win the battle just in time for the other heroes of the prophecy of seven to arrive from Camp Half-Blood.

The Son of Neptune

last week i read the book The son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. for any of you who have read the Percy Jackson Series this is the sequel to that series. Heros of Olympus book one was The lost hero. both books happen at almost the same point in time. the two main charecters, Percy Jackson and Jason Grace, have their Memories wiped by Hera or Juno (the queen of olympus). Percy goes to a roman demigod camp, he joins up with two new friends, Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque. they go on a quest to Free Thantos who is basically the god of death. their quest takes them to the land beyond the gods, Alaska. They free Thantos and defeat the giant Alconeyus. by freeing death they can now kill their enemies. if you have read the Percy Jackson series or the lost hero i would recommend this book to you, or even if you like exiting, funny, action packed books, or if you are interested in greek or roman mythology.

Hero by Mike Lupica

Im not really that far in this book, but so far I know that the main character is Zach. His dad worked for the president of the united states. His dad did special missions to stop the "bads" and he stopped one bad guy and tried to take him back on an airplane. It was said that the airplane's engine broke down and the dad tried to aim for the harbor, but instead hit a field and died. Zach doesn't think that this actually happened. Zach thinks that somebody invaded and took down the airplane. He knows that his dad was a really good pilot and wouldn't of died in an airplane unless someone took him down. So, right now Zach is trying to figure out what really happened to his dad.

L.A. Candy

I am currently readying LA Candy, by Lauren Conrad. This book is about two ordinary girls, Scarlet and Jane, who move to Los Angeles for Scarlet to go to college and for Jane to start an internship at one of California's most exclusive event planers, Fiona Chen. While trying to fit in, a famous producer spots them and wants both girls on his upcoming reality TV show, L.A. Candy. Without thinking that any fame would come from this, Jane and Scarlet accept. As the filming begins, they realize the true side to reality TV. Madison and Gaby, the two other girls on the show, could not be more different that Jane and Scarlet. Although Jane tries to stay positive and looks like she's having fun, Scarlet makes it clear that she does not like the other girls on the show. Trevor, the show's producer, tells Jane and Scarlet simply to carry on their life, the only difference being the multiple cameras following them. The girls soon realize that the cameras aren't the only change, but Jane's boss becoming suddenly nice, the girls having to talk loudly and walk into a room five time just so the cameras can get the right shot, plus Jane and Scarlet would never hang out with people like Madison and Gaby. Jane realizes, as the show gets number one ratings, that not everyone is looking to be her friend, and many want to see her fall.

The Hunger games

A couple days ago, I finished the first book the of the Hunger Game series. I have to say, it was one of the most interesting, addicting book I have ever read in my life. Katniss, the main character of the story has just won the hunger games along with her partner Peeta. They started the hunger games out by being enemies, but later realized that their strategy of falling in love would give them the games. But later Katniss found out that Peeta's love for her wasn't a cover, Katniss would have to pretend to love Peeta back. On the train home from the hunger games, reality hit them. Katniss would have to live her life as a lie, of being in love with Peeta. When looking over the book, there were so many hidden morals. I thought more about the book after I was done reading it then when I was in the midst of reading it. I love how it is something that you never really stop thinking about

Goose Girl

Goose Girl is a typical fairytale with a little bit of a twist. It is the normal princess with a mistaken identity story and disguised as a goose girl she meets the prince she was meant to marry, and the story closes with a close to fairytale ending, but it is more than just a fairytale. Since Ani was a princess, she never had to do anything for herself, she didn't have to try to make friendships, or work to do anything. But as a goose girl she has to form friendships, gain peoples trust, and work to eat and sleep. Because of these experiences she learns what life is like beyond the world of thousands of silk dresses and 3 huge meals every day, and when she does take her place as princess, she is more prepared to rule knowing what it is like not to have everything handed to you on a silver platter. It is a really good story for someone who wants a fairytale plot but with more meaning to the story than some fairytales have.

London Calling

I am currently reading the book London Calling by Edward Bloor. The protagonist in this book, Martin, is a lazy student who can't stand going to All Souls Preparatory, let alone as a "scholarship". On the last day of school, Martin and his two friends encounter an enemy and cause an incident that leaves one of them expelled and another as an "independent study". Meanwhile, at the beginning of the summer, Martin receives numerous, seemingly absurd calls from his grandmother about a little boy and a radio. Soon after these calls Martin's grandmother passes away. Before the funeral, Martin is given an old radio from his Aunt Elizabeth. After returning back home Martin investigates the radio and from there, reality and fantasy coincide to create the plot of this mysterious, suspenseful story concerning what Martin must do in order to help save a boy whom he has never met. I picked this book because of the author, Edward Bloor, who's writing I really enjoy and so far he has not disappointed me!

The Maze Runner

I recently started reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner. It's about a boy named Thomas who wakes up in a strange place with no memory of his former self. He then finds out from others who are also there that he is in a place called the Glade. He makes a new friend whose name is Chuck. Thomas is told that the Glade is in the center of a maze full of dangers that come out at night. He's told of the roles of the people and that there are creatures called grievers that live in the maze. While learning all of this he quickly makes an enemy whose name is Gally . He then accidentally stumbles into a room and sees what appears to be a person except pale and full of bruises and blood. He is escorted out quickly and is told not told go into that room. Night comes and Thomas follow Chuck to do something that Chuck and I personally find hilarious. They go up to a window by one of the houses and he knocks until someone responds. When someone does respond he jumps out and scares them, while laughing Chuck runs away, but Thomas doesn't know what is happening. The person that they scared comes out and it turns out to be Gally and that is when Thomas starts running. They escape and reach their home in the Glade. When morning comes Thomas is taken by one of the leaders there and is taken to see the maze. He also sees what appears to be part human and machine, but with no real shape. horrified Thomas screams but silences himself. He is then told that that is a griever and the grievers would kill them if not for the walls around the Glade. And that is how far i am

Today, I was reading a Star Tribune article about a man in Ohio who let dozens of wild animals, including lions, camels, bears, wolves etc. out of captivity before killing himself. Many of the animals were endangered, which is really, really sad because the Ohio police had to shoot 49 of them.

I think that it's awful that this happened. It's really terrible that the man was sad enough about his life that he felt he had nowhere to turn but my question is "Why release the animals?" He ended up leaving the animals to fend for themselves but if he had left them in captivity they most likely wouldn't have died. Over all the animals that were killed cost $5,413,500. That's a lot of money. Not to mention letting the animals go caused a lot of panic and was very dangerous to the people in the city. What do you think about his decision?

I have recently re-started (and am now almost done with) the book A Red Herring Without Mustard. I am in love with the Flavia de Luce series. Flavia is an 11 year old chemist who lives with her slightly strange and unconventional father and her 2 older sisters, both of which seem to despise her for no apparent reason. Flavia is extremely intelligent and often ends up being mixed up in murders. In A Red Herring Without Mustard Flavia gives shelter to a gypsy, then the next morning heads out into the fields where the gypsy set up her tent, and finds the woman brutally wounded and on the edge of death. The same day, Flavia is walking around in Buckshaw's (that's the name of the place she lives) garden and she finds a dead man hanging off of a statue of Neptune. It's all very scary.

In my opinion, the character of Flavia de Luce is not realistic. Although it is possible for a child to be as bright as she is she is not at all scared by death and is infatuated by crime, neither of which is a trait I have often seen in an 11 year old girl. But still, over all, this series is great and you should read them!

Harry Potter!

About two weeks ago, I found out that the BBC (Blake Book Club) was having a "Good Bye Harry Potter Party". In third grade I read the first three books, got scared, and decided I was done. Determined once more to read the series, I picked up the 4,000 or so page series.

I have noticed a pattern. Rowling writes in detail about the end of summer and the beginning of the school year, skims over fall, detail about Christmas break, skims right into spring, and the last quarter of the book is devoted to the last month of school. I've noticed that the most important part of the book comes in the last month of the story. I wonder if that is a coincidence. I also wonder whether Harry Potter realizes this.

Another interesting topic I believe, is Hermione's love and devotion to freeing house elves. Everyone keeps telling Hermione that house elves are happy where they are, but Hermione brings up the topic of Dobby. Dobby was the Malfoy's house elf and was treated "like vermin" he said. When Harry freed him, he was incredibly happy. I think this is because he was not treated well enough. It seems that Hogwarts' house elves are very comfortable where they are because they are treated kindly and fairly. Something else I noticed was that house elves are afraid that if they are freed they will not be able to find another family, and it will bring shame upon them. I feel really bad for house elves, but at the same time, if they are happy, to each their own.