English Final Blog Reflection

Sadly, this will be my last English post for my freshman year. Time flew by so quickly. 

          Reflecting back on how I wrote and grew this year as a writer, I would have to say my 2015 best blog post would have to be, To Kill a Mockingbird: Post 2. Link to blog post: http://keerthisreadingblog.blogspot.com/2015/04/to-kill-mockingbird-post-2.html#gpluscomments. I think this post exemplifies my best literary/textual writing because I tie in not only the understanding of the book, but as well as the theme of the book. The author's most important message is the theme so when the reader can identify the theme the author's goal is achieved. Some textual evidence to support my thought is: 
"There are multiple lessons in the book that are very important. It also shows how segregation was like back in that time period. Some of the themes in the book are:

1.  The Coexistence of Good and Evil
2.  The Importance of Moral Education
3.  The Existence of Social Inequality "

                   This shows how I can identify the theme within the book and I can explain how the themes pertain the book (history of segregation). I also put a link that shows the depth of the themes. I also agree with what the other reader wrote about the themes. Overall the blog post is well written given the fact that the way the author wrote the book is a little challenging to understand. Harper Lee uses different phrases and historical significance's that the readers should know before hand.

                   One thing I struggled through this experience was what to write about for the book. I wasn't sure what to write 3 paragraphs on without boring the reader. Maybe the reason for that was because I didn't read some good books that I actually enjoyed. I couldn't find books that really drew my attention in to every small detail. I enjoyed lots of books but by the end of the year I completely ran out of books that I wanted to read badly. A way to overcome that weakness is to collaborate with my friends and ask what are some good books they enjoyed and further my research to my perspective. But 1 strength I believe I succeeded in finding during this experience was when I found a really good book, and described it's deeper meaning. Like all the Nicholas Sparks books I read this year, i found a deeper meaning the author was trying to convey and shared that in my blog posts. (even my mom liked it :D ) So I believe that was one strength in my writing.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Issue on Feminism

               I didn’t get that much time to read these past couple of weeks in To Kill a Mockingbird, but in what I read, I learned that people always told Scout, she can’t do manly things. She was scolded for not wearing a dress but wearing pants, playing with boys, not playing with “girly” things like a tea set. Back in the day society didn’t allow girls/ women to do things men did. They were not equal, and still today lots of people still have that mind set.

               That upsets me that people are still like that today.  I support women equality in jobs/opportunities in fields where it is male dominant, like engineering, manufacturing, CEO positions at companies, politics, and entrepreneurship. I agree with Scout, you should let women do the same jobs as men. It doesn't make sense why women can’t do the same things as men. We both have the same ability to be successful. Men shouldn't undermine the power of women.

               In the book, I feel empathy towards Scout. She has to grow up thinking playing with dolls and having tea parties is the right way to behave. She was told that when she cussed or wore pants, she would be a disgrace to the family, which isn't true in reality. With that mindset, people begin to grow stereotypes downgrading girls/women in becoming fragile, delicate, shy. Bold, confident, and intelligent girls became rare back then. 

              Attached to this post is an ad showing how people raise the girls not letting them do "manly" things and stick to trying to look pretty. Girls should be able to feel beautiful and smart at the same time and shouldn't let people tell them they can't do things just because they are girls. You should be able to achieve your dreams and aspirations no matter want gender you are. We are all the same.

Link to Ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP3cyRRAfX0

To Kill a Mockingbird: Post 2

               I recently finished up to Chapter 9 in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Up till now, Harper Lee describes the life Scout and Jem live. Lee also describes and introduces Boo Radley. (The mystery man) Boo Radley shows the opposite of what rumors were told of him. He shows care to Scout and Jem even though they still think he is a murderous man. Then later, Scout’s dad, Atticus gets a case that a black man (friend of his cook, Calpurnia’s) who is charged for rape of a white woman. They don’t get into detail about the case, but Atticus has a serious discussion with Scout about segregation in their society.

               Along with this quick summary, I also put a link to spark notes showing the themes, symbols, and motifs spark notes thought of the book. There are multiple lessons in the book that are very important. It also shows how segregation was like back in that time period. I haven’t gotten very far in the book and sometimes the book goes all over the place so it’s sometimes hard to understand.

Some of the themes in the book are:

1.         The Coexistence of Good and Evil
2.        The Importance of Moral Education
3.         The Existence of Social Inequality

Link: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/themes.html

To Kill a Mockingbird Written by: Harper Lee

This week, I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird, By: Harper Lee. I wasn't very sure what the book was about but I've heard it’s a great book so I picked it up. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a lawyer from the South defends a black man charged of rape of a white girl. I only have read 38 pages of the book and at first I was very confused. Lee goes all over the place in the beginning. She puts it in the daughter of the lawyer’s perspective and talks about multiple characters at once. At first, I wanted to put the book down but slowly the author redrew me back into the book. 

So far what has happened was, the girl named Scout and her brother, Jem have grown close together and she is about to start school. In the summer, she meets a boy named Dill. He looks like he is 3 but really; he is 7 and loves to read. Over the summer, the 3 of them grew inseparable and made so many memories. One day Dill said he wanted Boo Radley to come out of his house. Then the author makes the reader wonder, who is Boo Radley? Lee builds up so many suspicions of who the character is because, the town feared him, and he was a dangerous person. His father is a crude man that no one likes and Boo got into a bad group of boys and did very bad things. Later, Boo was arrested and put into this strict school for boys to get good education and focus. His father thought that was a terrible idea and told the judge he would fix his son. The judge knowing his father keeps his word willingly, let him. Ever since then, the Radley’s were dangerous and feared of. Boo never came out of the house so everyone started making these scary rumors about him. When Jem and Scout told Dill all these rumors, he wanted to see him. So they tried to go to his house but failed to because they were scared. Then, when summer was over, Scout went to school for the first time, starting a whole new different adventure.

A lot goes on in the book and may things happen at the same time. That’s what keeps the book so lively. I want to continue reading this book because I still haven’t gotten to the part where the lawyer (girl’s father) gets a case about a black man charged of rape of a white girl and why the man defends him. I have lots of questions running through my head and hopefully Lee answers them by the end of the book.

Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN7dbfT7Wiw

Satire

The image above is an example of Satire because, the author criticizes Obama’s choices with spending the U.S money. Obama is spending way too much and not on the right things. The cartoon tells you that by emphasizing the money in the “fatty foods” making the man really fat and unhealthy. Then, the author ties in Michelle Obama’s Nutrition campaign by making Obama say, “Whatever you do, don’t let Michelle see you!” Which shows Obama not really helping or following what he says, or Michelle says. This cartoon is Horatin Satire. The author tries to let people know his view of the bad decisions Obama is making and turns his message in a witty humorous way. Some elements of Satire the author uses is: Irony [verbal], hyperbole, Innuendo, and farce.

Song writer Helps Kids Summon Courage to stop bullies By: Krista Ramsey

       The article was sharing a man, Keenan West a songwriter goes on a national tour to different schools talking about stopping bullies. He makes songs and shows kids at assemblies and also shows stories of different kids that have been bullied which inspires lots of other high schoolers to stop bullying as well.

URL to the article: Song Writer Helps Kids Summon Courage to Stop Bullies

Best written lines:

" Now the gym has become as quiet and still as an SAT testing sit. As West describes instances of cyber-bullying and intimidation, some students' heads go down, perhaps in a moment of self-examination. Other students – some seated apart from their peers – show keen interest, as if West were telling their story."

It's the best written line because, Krista creates humor in the sentences even though it's a serious topic. When she applies humor to the sentences it also creates a stronger effect and helps connect the reader to Krista's thoughts and emotions. These sentences also tell the reader to start thinking about their life and choices they've made. These words really impact the reader, it has good diction as well. The words are wisely chosen to give a better impact to the reader and carry out the message clearly.

Ramsey writes in a persuasive method, influencing the reader to support her opinions. She is a great argumentative writer. She also has great use of syntax and diction. In her article, For better vision, 
kids need time outdoors, she exclaims "But before parents claw back the iPhones, experts say that the
problem may not lie in the technology itself, but the amount of time spent on it, the environment in which it's used and the activities its replacing." This shows how well Ramsey can persuade an audience by stating an issue but also a solution or suggestion. Also, in Super Bowl QB's score points for great style, Ramsey shows that the style of words give a great meaning and can wrap it into a good present. " In fact, it's interesting how often the best turned-out  person in the room has one of the lowest salaries." In Song writer helps kids summon courage to stop bullies, Ramsey writes, "Now the gym has become as quiet and still as an SAT testing site." This shows that she also wrote in a way that makes you feel like your there, at the event.


If I were able to meet Krista Ramsey, I would ask her 3 questions:

1) How did you start your career as a columnist?

2) When did you get the passion to write?

3) What's your favorite topic to write in for an article?

We Were Liars: Part 2

               I started continued to read the book We Were Liars and the main character has it worse. After the accident, she has this brain issue where she forgets everything and asks the same question over and over again. All her loved ones think she’s crazy and stays away from her. She is isolated from everyone. She feels like she has no purpose to life. So she slowly gives each one of her belongings away until she has nothing so when she dies, she doesn't need to give anything to her family.

               I feel the desperation and loneliness of the main character. The author writes the emotions of the main character very well. You can connect to the character and feel empathy because she turns the character into a real human. The way she brings the character to life with realistic problems is amazing. That is a great way to connect with the reader. It helps the reader hook on to the book.

               The main character sees well in the world, but she thinks she doesn't belong because everyone tells her she can’t. I have attached an article showing how teenagers get lonely and how suicide is what they look on doing as their next course of action like main character in this book is deciding.

Article: http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Teenage_Suicide.htm

We Were Liars

I have finished all my mandatory 3 books. For my own choice book, I read If I Stay. For my second book, a genre normally don’t read, I read The Watcher. Finally for my non-fiction, I read The Sea of Tranquility. (By far my favorite book) Now I am starting a new book called We Were Liars. I heard it was a good book and I have only read 3-4 pages in the book and I can already see lots of foreshadowing.

               It’s about a girl who doesn’t really fit in with her family. Her dad left her a year ago and before he left, he shot her right in the chest. She was always a daddy’s girl, so see her very own father shoot her in their front lawn broke her heart. She now can’t trust anyone and feels like no one loves her. When she was bleeding out in her front lawn her mother came and didn’t show any empathy. Her mother just said, Don’t cause a scene. Go inside and suck it up. Ever since then, she is lifeless.

               That’s all I have read in the book and if I were in her shoes, I would be scared. I would run away or even do worse things. I can already tell she is a very strong person because she puts a mask on her face and acts like she’s okay but in reality, she no one loves her, not even her family. She hides lots of her emotions and if a character has that trait it proves that she is strong and selfless. It’s so sad to read through her struggles and hopefully it gets better for her in the end.

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5yMYlVM7Vk

The Best of Me

This week I read The Best of Me By: Nicholas Sparks. I actually finished this book in a week as well. It’s about a couple, Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier. They both went through hard paths in high school. They fall madly in love and promise each other they would never leave each other. Well, they were wrong. The time came, senior year, the hardest decision of their life came. The ended up splitting up and separating the paths. Many years later, when they both are middle aged, (45) a very close friend of theirs Tuck, died. His last request was for both of them to come back. When they came back the memories come flooding back and they “re-fall” in love again within a matter of days. 

Before they came back home, Dawson never fell in love with another women after Amanda. He became alone. While Amanda fell in love again in College with a man named Frank and had 4 kids, 1 died at the age of 3 from Leukemia. Coming back, both Amanda and Dawson share what they have done in 20 years they’ve seen each other. After confessing there love again, Amanda sees that she has a family and falling in love with Dawson is a problem. She decided to leave Dawson and go back to her family.

To find out more (the ending) and more specific details, I highly suggest you pick this book up and start reading it! It’s the cutest book you will ever read.

               The Best of Me, taught me a valuable lesson. Everyone has second chances in life. You get a second chance in life, not just love. I think that’s very important to understand. You shouldn’t give up just because it didn’t work the first time, brush it off, and try again

.

“The truth is, the world isn't easy for any of us. It never has been and it never will be.” 
― Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me

               Stepping up and trying to make the best of things is another lesson I learned from this book. There are so many hidden lessons weaved into the book that you need to notice in close detail. My favorite part of the book was when, meeting each other 20 years later. The amount of detail Dawson and Amanda remember of each other is amazing. It shows how special their connection is and showcases that they have true love.

Trailer to the Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0a_EF5PMYc

The One: The Selection

I started to read the book The One: The Selection Series and actually finished the book in less than a week. Do you know when you read a book and no matter what you can’t stop reading it? Well this book did that to me. I read the book till 2 in the morning every day until I finished it and was satisfied. The book and series had a good ending and I felt like it was well written and didn’t “rip me off” like other authors have done to their series that I have read. I was content and left with mixed emotions like every author should.

This book/ series where there was a system to pick a queen. It is similar to the bachelor. Funny huh? A 17 year old prince that has never been in love, or had a crush has to pick 1 girl out of 17 beautiful ones to be his wife and rule the country. America happened to be one of those girls. She was form a lower class but once the prince laid his eyes on her, he knew he was in love. In this book she was one of the final girls to be nominated to be queen. While the Selection was going on, lots of violence/ politics from northern and southern rebels kept the prince on his feet. From the selection, to the countless deaths happening in society the prince must juggle everything and find the next queen. A lot happens in this book and I don’t want to spoil it. :)

I recommend this book to people who enjoy romance and like watching the bachelor/bachelorette. It’s intense and has many plot twists, like a guy from America’s past and the threats from the king. That might sound confusing, but if want to know more, read the book! The series is a great and the talent of the writer dragging the reader in tends to amaze me. Cass has been able to use people’s emotions and write the books very well.

Official Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVDfV7gCCFE

Walk to Remember: Part 2

I am still reading A Walk to Remember and so far I am enjoying it. After watching the trailer, I can predict lots of the characters personalities. There are not some characters that are developed. But all the characters develop in their own way. (Especially the main characters) I understand the character's thought and a little of there past.

After some time the book started to slow down and get in every small detail. That style of writing is not what I can read. All of Nicholas Sparks Book’s, are very detailed. This book however, was very different from the rest. It was structured in only one of the characters perspective for multiple chapters in a row. Usually Sparks alternates so you can understand both sides. Being a in guy’s perspective for so long was very boring and blunt. He portrayed the guy checking out girls’ majority of the time and describing there “body structure”. I understand that, some guys think like that but I don’t think Sparks should write in that perspective/ topic for a long time.

Even though, I didn’t really enjoy the book, I really want to see the movie. Like I said before [in blog post 8], I watched the trailer and hope to enjoy the movie better. I went onto YouTube, and found lots of scenes people enjoyed in the movie. I particularly love the scene where he stands up for Jamie and is not afraid to be seen with her in public. That was when they’re connection sparked.

The scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dso2Tfye2q4

A Walk to Remember

      I stopped reading Delirium and switched to A Walk to Remember By: Nicholas Sparks. The reason I “dropped” the book Delirium was because it was going very slowly. I might pick it up again when I have time. It was a good book but dragged on for a long time.

      But A Walk to Remember is about this boy, Landon Carter who was a senior class of 1958. He didn't care about his future. He dated a few girls and told that he was in love. But he didn't expect it to be Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the church’s minister.

"Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it." 
— Nicholas Sparks (A Walk to Remember)

     Never expecting it to be the girl who was shy, quiet, kind and a girl who didn't care about clothes and makeup, because she wasn't his "type". But, he finds his way to fall in love with her anyway. Funny huh? Love comes to you in weird ways.

     I just started reading the book and I know I will love it. I love how Nicholas Sparks writes. He writes with emotions he’s experienced before; like pain, empathy, and affection. Writing your experiences is the best writing a reader can read, because we can connect to it and understand what the author/ characters go through.

"Without suffering, there'd be no compassion." 
— Nicholas Sparks (A Walk to Remember)

As I continue to read A Walk to Remember, I can’t wait to see what Nicholas Sparks has for me to read this time! 

Here is the Trailer to the Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3b19svqbls

Delirium

I recently started a few pages in the book Delirium. It’s about a society where the government makes the citizens believe that the love is a terrible thing. Having sympathy and care for your children was terrible too. If you were happy and fell in love they would kill you or imprison you till death. There is this girl, it’s her turn to be examined by government officials to see if she has the “disease” but in the middle of her examination, and rebels break into the examination center and create havoc.

I have only read very little of this book but I really enjoy it. It sounds interesting, like the concept of the government controlling what the citizens think and the citizens don’t realize anything or can’t think for themselves. It is similar to the Hunger Games but the citizen realize what the government doing is wrong. But so far, I enjoy the book.

Some questions I have for the author are: What time period is this book set in? , Why does the main character’s friend acts all weird before her examination? , and who is the rebellions who break in? I need more information on the group. I can’t wait to read the rest of the book!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j51FvUbid_w here is the Trailer to the Movie! :)

The Last Song

                I recently read the book the The Last Song. The book was about a 17 year old girl named Veronica “Ronnie” whose parents are divorced and her father moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. Ronnie felt anger since her father left her. Her father was a former pianist and traveled to play at different places. He also taught to multiple students including Ronnie. The piano was part of her life when she was little. It was a thing she shared with her father. Once he left, she threw it into the past. She got accepted into Julliard, a high educational music school only the top best could get into. She is declined it because she never wanted to remember the past. The summer after senior year, her mother told her she had to go visit her father. Ronnie hated that, she didn’t want to see her father’s face after he left her. Her mother forced her and told her she had to go.

               When she got to her father’s house, she hated it at the beginning. She soon started to like it at her father’s place. She made friends, became closer to her father again and she met Will, her first love. She had fallen in love with the “beach hottie” and later she found out the he isn’t just good looks and personality. He has a story she could relate to. But when she first went to Wilmington she became friends with a girl nicknamed as Blaze. She wasn’t the nicest girl and she had friends who broke the law all the time. Like her “boyfriend” Marcus. He is ruthless, selfish, penurious, and alone. He always wanted to get Ronnie (just to use her) and tend to scare people away.

 Ronnie managed to get away from Marcus and change Blaze’s personality for the better. After having a wonderful summer, at the end of all the happiness, her father fell very ill. Ronnie soon began to unravel all the secrets her parents had kept from her and finally forgiven her father. Her father passed away at the end of the summer and in honor to keep his memory in her heart she attended Julliard. Her father and Ronnie’s dream came true. She moved back to New York and studied music while her love, Will moved the other direction to Vanderbilt. Separating was hard for them. It all happened while her father was sick which hurt Ronnie even more. At the end of the book Will and Ronnie had a happy ending. Will came to visit her in Julliard and came with a surprise. His mother let him change colleges to one in New York. He got to live with Ronnie and that was how she got the happiness she deserved.

I really enjoyed this book because it gave a message to the reader. Second Chances. I love this book. Nicholas Sparks is an amazing author and he has a way with words. When her father died, I became an emotional train wreck and poured down tears. If an author can do that with simple words, imagine how good the movie is! 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZH0Nf4KLBo

Where She Went

“Letting go. Everyone talks about it like it's the easiest thing. Unfurl your fingers one by one until your hand is open.” 

― Gayle Forman, Where She Went

After reading If I Stay, I read the Sequel, Where She Went.  Continuing on Alex and Mia’s love story, but after waking up, Mia decides to go to Julliard and leave Adam. He didn't take that to well. But years later, he got famous with his band, Shooting Stars and got a celebrity girlfriend. Mia and Alex always dream about each other and hope to see each other again and make amends. This story was told in Adam’s perspective and the first book was told in Mia’s perspective. I really enjoyed this book because it taught me a lesson, forgiving is hard, but becoming friends again or getting back together is harder.

               I think Forman portrayed the lesson/theme very well with Adam and Mia’s forgiveness. Even though it took most of the book, it was well worth it. It was very dramatic and descriptive. The drama is what makes the book interesting and romantic.

               I would recommend this book to readers who like romance and are patient. The book goes slow. Also it’s a very “cheesy” romance, but it’s cute. The book is very realistic and gives you a good view of reality for relationships, and people after high school. Overall, a lesson I learned from the entire series is that life throws you challenges, and no matter what you got to stick through and not let it stop you from your goal.

Quotes on the book: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/10706553-where-she-went

If I Stay

“Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.” (Goodreads, If I stay)

Mia has so many choices. She has lots of things in her mind. She can’t have it all. Her choices are hard, but one day all those choices are gone. She (along with her family) was on their way to see her grandparents, and relatives. On the way there, there car swerves and crashes near a ditch. Now all her choices she thought of before were wiped away from this crash. She has one choice now, let go and lose everyone and leave everyone behind, or fight through and wake up from her coma and see her loved ones.

I love this book because the author gives a good message behind the book. She explains how life can change within matters of seconds. One day you might have all the luxuries you could possibly have in the world, seconds later you could be in a life or death situation with nothing like Mia in the story.

           I am only half way through the book and I can already predict that she will get 
better but leave her loved ones behind. She gets a wonderful opportunity to join Julliard, a gifted school for musicians (all-girls school) and she chooses her school over her boyfriend (Adam), and her best friend (Kim). I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy Romance because this is a beautiful story of Romance.

Here is the movie trailer! I really loved it and can't wait to watch the movie! Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1L3-ovdBE4

The Watcher

I am currently reading the book The Watcher.  This is a genre I don't normally like to read but I tried to read this because the summary sounded interesting and different.

Every day, a girl sits in the corner and watches the people at the beach. She’s always watching, even when people notice her watching. It was a whole new level of “stalker”. She watches a boy take care of his 2 year old sister, playing at the beach, making sand mermaids. Also she sees a handsome lifeguard with a perfect tan and body. But no matter how closely she watches them, she can’t begin to notice there secrets and perfect facades of their lives aren’t actually true. She sees their outer personality but doesn’t understand their inner emotions. There backgrounds don’t seem as perfect as they do to her.

I really enjoyed what I have read so far in the book. It was intense and emotionally compelling. I have only read half of the book and already think it’s an amazing and suspenseful. This book is different, it gives the perspectives of the girl (the watcher), and the people she watches. They see her watching their every move and soon it begins to impact their lives.

The best thing I have read in this book so far is that the connection between the older brother and his baby sister. Their special relationship is so adorable. The older brother protects her, keeps her safe, and comforts her through their hard times. Like when their parents were going to get divorced, the brother comforted her because she never understood why. I've always wanted an older brother for that exact reason, so that’s how I connect with those characters.

I would suggest this book to people who like to read in different perspectives because it is like that. If you don’t understand it, then you can’t really read it. The book switches back and forth without letting you know. But a helpful way is to read the excerpts from other stories the author puts before a new chapter.

A fan made a book talk about the book: (she doesn't have the best spelling) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoXw1MYj7s8

Loser/Queen

For this post I read the book called Loser/Queen. It was my choice of book. Loser/Queen was about a girl named Cammy Hall who is alone and practically a loser. She has a best friend named Gerdi, who is a Danish exchange student. For her whole life, Cammy was used to being an outsider, being bullied and hurt. Junior year, she felt that should change. Change is what she really wanted. Well, the day of homecoming, she got change. But it was worse. She was changing into her normal clothes and she did something she regretted. She accidentally showed her granny panties to the ENTIRE school, with the credit of the top “popular” girl of the school, Bekka Bell. When Cammy asked for change, she wanted good change, not what she was going through. After the horrid experience at homecoming, Cammy received an anonymous text helping her get revenge on the popular girls who were the queens of the school, especially to Bekka Bell for ruining her life. This anonymous person also had a way to bring Cammy from the bottom of the pyramid to the very top. Read the book to find out: Will Cammy be a Queen or the loser she always was?

I enjoyed reading this book. It had multiple plot twists and surprises. It also was very realistic. It portrayed how teenagers “give in” to peer pressure and what the prices they pay for it. The only thing I disliked about the book was that the conclusion of the story was so abrupt. I need more information to finish the book in my opinion. Even better idea is that the author should have made a second book to this book. The ending didn't really satisfy me. But overall, even with those flaws, I really enjoyed reading the book.

With this blog post, I attached a link about teenagers (children in general) getting dragged into peer pressure. Also what the consequences of “bad” peer pressure is. “‘There are two main features that seem to distinguish teenagers from adults in their decision making," says Laurence Steinberg, a researcher at Temple University in Philadelphia. "During early adolescence in particular, teenagers are drawn to the immediate rewards of a potential choice and are less attentive to the possible risks. Second, teenagers in general are still learning to control their impulses, to think ahead, and to resist pressure from others.’ These skills develop gradually, as a teens ability to control his or her behavior gets better throughout adolescence.” 

If you ever get into situation like this, don’t go through this alone. Ask a parent to get you out of the situation. If your friends try to convince you to do bad things just say no. 

Website: http://headsup.scholastic.com/articles/peer-pressure-its-influence-on-teens-and-decision-making

The Sea of Tranquiltiy

 I read the book called The Sea of Tranquility over the summer. The touching story was about a girl named Natsya. Natsya was a beautiful, talented girl who was a prodigy at the piano. Until the day she was raped. She was mistaken for the wrong girl and that simple mistake the boy made, changed Natsya’s life forever. She lost her talent, the piano, her identity, her family, her will to live, the ability to have children, and her voice. She became alone. She was broken. Then, she transfer’s schools and meets a guy named Josh Bennett. Josh lost everyone. All of his loved ones have died. His parents in a car crash, his grandfather from old age, and his friends left him. After his loved ones died, they left him with over 1.5 million dollars. After his losses and finding out his name is a synonym to death, he never believed in love, until he met Natsya.

 After reading this riveting story about how Natsya and Josh, and how they both lose themselves but find their true self when meeting each other amazes me what love can do. Katja Millay (the author) did a wonderful job one portraying two broken characters that at the end they become new people. Also, the author wrote about getting second chances and how you should use them wisely. I found out that this story is similar what the author went through. When I heard that it amazes how someone could go through that. I really enjoyed this book and it is now one of my top favorite books of all time. I would recommend it to people who enjoy Romance novels.

 Overall, my favorite character from the book is Josh Bennett. He always has determination and never gives up especially if it involves Natsya. He always sees optimism in everything, even in the worst times too. One of the main reasons I love his role/character because he’s a gentlemen. You can never find good gentlemen these days. But Josh Bennett, he’s a sentimental, caring, realist and by far the best realistic character formed in the book. Josh, a lonely boy and Natsya, an emotional fragile girl show readers the miracle of second chances and take on challenges together and their not alone anymore.

         This book is so rich, intense, realistic and well written and by far one of the best books I've read.

Check out this link for the book trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4IygnuIoobE