12/17/2013 "Chesapeake" Pages 0-61

 Prompt- Describe the Main characters.

        This week I have been reading Cheasapeak, and it might very well be the most detailed book I have ever read. It starts out that a giant indian leaves his village because of a reason unknown. He makes it all the way down the choptank river and stops in the very fertil land, only to find its inhabitants very gentil and practically takes over the village single handedly. He proves himself in battle and they warship him as their leader. In the village there is a myth about a "giant canoe" and the true story about the men with their white skins is passed from leader to leader. As he passes down the information to the next generation of leader and leaves to live somewhere else, he is called back to see the giant canoe.

        The first main character I would like to describe is Pentaquod. He is the indian who is many heads taller and many fists broader than the other indians. He is very wise and clever, but we do not know why he left his village in such a hurry. He and his tribe help each other learn of new food sources and better ways to live, with Pentaquod being from the tribe of hunters, and the Village being very good builders. Many people in the Village trust his decisions, not even questioning when he picks the next leader, a street smart warior.

        The next main character I would like to describe is the white man named Captain Smith. He is the most frustrating person you could have. He sets off in a 100 ton ship and brings a scribe to write the adventure. Then he tells his scribe to make him look more heroic, then tells him to make Pentaquod  stupid and the indians hostle! Personally I think that it was because he was jealous of his height. For another reason unknown, he wakes up his scribe in the middle of the night and tells him to erase the part about them finding their gold. He even tells him that they never found the river in the first place. That is where I left off...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Cabin Fever Pages 0-207

*Prompt* Describe the main characters.

        This week I have been reading Diary of a wimpy kid and, its really frustrating. A blizzard hits and it becomes too dangorus for Gregs dad to come home, so he stays in a hotel while Greg, Rodrick, Gregs mom, and Manny suffer at home. The power goes out and Manny is missing so Rodrick, Mom, and Greg. Greg gets up the next day to hear nocking on the door, and its Rowley. He is standing there with a plate of cookies asking for Greg to come outside and play, and then Greg got suspicious. He went to the circuit board and saw all of the switches off ecxept for the one in Mannys room. Thats where I left off.

        The first character I would like to describe is Manny. This is my least favorite character, mostly because he can do anything he wants and won't get in trouble, but he's a tattle tale. If I had someone like that in my family (which I do), he would not be using me like he is Greg. The second character I want to describe is Greg. He is a little wuss (or wimp) who is so stupid at times it isn't even funny. He lets his little brother push him aside and his big brother mess with him 24/7 without doing anything about it.

        The third character I want to describe is Rodrick. Rodrick is the hardcore teenager, hoping to hit gold in his band carrer instead of getting a practicle job. He gets in trouble very often and lives in the basement like a pig. The final character I would like to describe is Rowley. He is a big clumsy follower who will do just about anything that Greg tells him to do. At one point in the series he even agrees to play a game where he has the only chance of getting hurt and gets his arm broken.

The Giver Week of 12/2/13 Pages- Finished

Prompt: Do you like what your reading? Why or why not?

        This week I finished the book "The Giver" and the ending really confused me. So, jonas and Gabriel set off on a journey to 'Elsewere' all on superstition from The Giver. Well, they run out of food as they reach the wilderness and are filthy. They keep going until they get to a big hill, drop the bike and transmits his last memory of warmth into Garbiel. They he gets on a sled slides down a hill and hears music.

        At first I loved the book. It was full of detail and explained everything throughly. The memories coming into play even made it better. It talked about his relationships with his friend and his family, every thing was fine. Then he started with the bad memories, with war, seperating himslelf futher and further from his family and friend until it seemed he really didn't have one with them. he stopped talking to Fiona, Asher, and Lily a little past the middle of the book and the relationship with his father and mother was much less past the part of release.

        Then towards the end I wasn't into the book as much because I knew what was coming. he seperated himself fully from his friends and family from a plan with the Giver and only Gabe as a companion. When he left is when things became confusing, he kept hurting himself and seeing new creatures that he described horribly. The part I hated second most was when he when on a sled down the hill because it really made no sence unless he was halucinating and dieing. The WORST part was... The book ended!

"The Giver"- Stanley Suter Week 11/25/2013 0-152

 *Prompt*-Tell me about the main character. What kind of person is he/she?

           Right now I am on page 152 of "The Giver" and the main character Jonas has just seen how a citizen is "released". In the book he was skipped in his age ceremony and was choosen as Reciever of Memory. As Reciever of Memory he has to take a whole world of memory onto his shoulders, just because the people of the town are too scared for all of them to have the memories. So, when a person is released, (a ceremony thought to be happy and nice) it turns out that they are actually given a shot that kills them, Jonas finds out when he watched his dad do one himself.

        In the beginning of the book Jonas is nice and acts perfectly, just like the rest of the people in his community. However, he recieves his job and rules (only because of a failure ten years before) and finds two rules that states how he can break other rules. Jonas does not break the rules, instead he makes sure to follow them.  Even when The Giver tells him not to apoligize because it wastes time, he almost slips up over three times. So right now Jonas is a very polite, unknowing boy.

        Much later in the book, after Jonas finds out about being "released" and freaks out, it turns his attitude around totally. The night that he finds out about being released he refuses to go back home to his mother and father, mainly because they were ok with what was happening. He even starts to formulate some sort of plan, while lieing to his father as he returns to his house. I think that this shows that he did change (at least his mind set) quite a bit. He went from stick to the rules to pretending he was lost in the river, so he could escape and useing his privleges to their full advantage.

"Scorpia Rising" Pages 0-215

*Prompt*- How have your feelings changed as you’ve been reading?

       This week I have been reading Scorpia rising, and I have to admit, it has been coming really slow. At this time in the book (like most action/mysteries) he is doing the tedious work of finding the whereabouts of Scorpia and what they are doing. Scorpia is doing the same to Alex without makeing too much of a stir. The reason for this is because in previous books the organization messed up with an assignment and isnt taken very seriously anymore.

        At the beginning of the book it seems like an end of a Harry Potter book, everything is calm, peaceful, and Alex is turning out very lucky. Then he gets ubducted by terrorists and his best friend dies trying to escape. This is part of the reason that I am finding the book so boring, it goes from boring work to stopping a bomb from exploding. My feelings towards the book have been less interested because the friend that dies is a very lively character and puts a lot of the feeling into the book. Although I got back into the book the terrorist leader tortured Alex by showing him the scean of his friends death over and over again, making sure attemps of escape were thrown away.

      Another thing that changed my feelings toward the book was how the organization Scorpia was taken so lightly. In the books prior to this scorpia messed up on two assignments and now they arn't even looked at as the number one criminal group in the country! Their specialty is stealing and they get an assignment to steal a rather large object out of a highly guarded museam, not a problem for Scorpia. They make up a plan to make sure that the object is kept where it is supposed to be, but dont get to put it into place because their client dies. This makes me feel even more bored with the book, what fun is losing power!?

11/13/2013 "Hatchet" pages 0-155

*Prompt*- Does the title fit the story? Why or why not?

        This week I was reading "Hatchet' by Gary Paulson. It all started when Brian flew over the Canadian wilderness, and guess what? The Pilot has a heart attack. So Brian quickly grabs the controlls and loses his sense of direction. Luckily, Brian is somewhat of a nerd, so he knows the basic controlls for the plane and is able to steer. When he notices his fuel is running low and he has lost all contact to the outside world, he lands the plane safely in the water. From there he starts his fight for food, shelter, and eventually, comfort.

        When Brian wakes up, the plane is gone and the sun is rising. He was tought from an old science teacher that the best way to solve a problem, is to lay out all possible answers and never forget that your most useful tool is himself. He has a torn windbreaker, a hatchet, shoelaces, shoes, casual clothes, and never forget, himself! (Cheezy) He quickly makes a lean to and finds enough food to last him for a while, even making fire using the steel end of the hatchet and some flint rock located inside of the leanto.

        I think that the title is not fitting for several reasons. For one, the story has a nice amount to do with Brian finding the hatchet but it could have as easily been Survival or Gone. Also it seems that he uses the Hatchet much less at the end of the book, he learnes to fish and makes a semi-effective bow. He was just hit and hurt by a moose, then tornado, and his whole camp is destroyed. Another possible title that has a great deal to do with the story would be The Rebirth  or something along those lines because when he gets back from his "trip" he is totally changed physically and mentally.

The Lost Heros-Pages 0-247 10/29/2013

Prompt: Describe the similarities and differences between the main character and you.
Character-Leo
        
         I have been reading the book "The Lost Heros" and right now im on page 247. So far the group has found out that they all have unreal demigod powers. Leo is the son of Vulcan/hepatitis and was born with the power of fire (only seen once every millenium.) Jason was born from the house of Zeus/Jupiter and has forgotten everything in his life (other than how to take care of himself.) Finally the last main character, Piper. Piper was born into the house of Aphrodite and is blessed with charm-speaking (a rare ability that allows you to win arguments faster.) So the three of them went out on a quest.

        Some of the similarities between Leo and I are that we both like to play with sharp things, we both make sometimes stupid decisions, and we both have started fires in our houses. In the storie Leo is messing around in the forges even after everyone else is done working on their weapons and such. When I was in boyscouts we learned how to use axe's and hatchets, and from that you might be able to tell were my free time went. We both have made some pretty stupid decisions, he followed a dragon into the woods, I have taken my bike tire off and chained it to my bike, which was never the same. He burned hand prints into the picnic table, I lit the stove with mail on it.

        Some of the differences between Leo and I are that he meets a giant dragon made of  metal and the largest animal I have ever seen was an elephant. He loves sandwiches and I pretty much hate them. He can summon fire on will, I have to go to the store and buy a lighter. He lives in a magical camp, I live in a 115 year old house. Finally he lives in a pretend world in Rick Riordan's mind while I live in a real world were I have to write a blog for Lit/Language arts.

The Demon King, Pages 0-436

*Prompt*- Describe your least favorite character and explain why. Describe your most

favorite character and explain why.

        The book I am currently reading is "The Demon King" and I can't keep my nose out of it. So far, every chapter you are switched from the view of princess Raisa anaMarianna and Han/Cuffs Alister. Princess Raisa a blue blood and Han being a street smart, pick pocketing, gang leading theif. In the story the queen's high wizard is gaining controll over the queen (1,000 years before there was a spell cast on the guard and the wizards making it so they could not gain too much power) and useing her power for his schemes. 

        My favorite character happens to be Hanson Alister. He is a tough figure, throwing off the guard and even making it so it seemed he was dead himself. He is somehow tolerant to any magic and has been known to threat and even stab wizards who get too close. In the storie he meets a wizard on Vale grounds, the land that wizards are forbidden to go on, and of course he and his friend aggervate him. So it excalates to the point where Han has his bow on the wizard, as the wizard is cursing at the Dancer (the friend), and Dancer unsheathed his knife and tries to throw it at the wizard. So there Han is, with a cursed amulet that brings him bad luck for the rest of the time he has it in his hands. His mother and sister die, he gets jumped several times and is almost taken captive by a group of demons.

        My least favorite character is princess Raisa anaMarianna. I do not like the character because she seems stuck up, mischievous, and has no idea what happens outside of her perfect little world. She makes a plan to go to South Bridge to the temple and donate to poverty, with or without her guard. She doesn't even know that in the days before there have been eight killings in the little town. She goes anyway, and when at the temple the guard and Han have a little encounter that ends with Raisa getting kidnapped by Han. Finally a day later Han lets her go and she gets herself into jail trying to "free" the people unfairly put in there.

Dangerous Waters- 10/15/2013 Pages 0-213

*Prompt*-Describe the main characters.

           The first character that I would like to introduce is Patrick Waters. In the story he is a street-smart steward who, when meets the rich Mr.Widener becomes a sort of student. Patrick meets Mr.Widener when cleaning spit jars in the smoking room and they immediately get into a heated debate in wether books are really useful in a persons life. Soon after, Patrick agreed with Mr.Widener and they went on a quest to find out what Bacon (an old inventor/genious) enscripted into Wideners 1st edition book. Through the book Patrick changes from a man who only cared for material things, into a person who cared more for intellectual arts.

           The second character that I am going to describe is James Waters, brother of Patrick. James is the largest minor character and is portraid as a self-sacrificeing, hard working man. Even as the Titanic is sinking he chooses to stay below deck in the boiler room to work like a mad-man. At first he seems very mean and unhappy because his brother snuck abord and got a job, however, when he knows his end was near he believes everything patrick says about Bacon's book and even helps him by using his authority to get Mr.Widener and Pat into the telegraph room.

           The final character that I would like to describe is the man named Mr.Rockwell. He is a colossal man who happens to also want Bacons book and code, for it was rumored that what was in the code would bring the holder great knowledge and power. So using some of his on board reasources, he almost gets away with stealing the book. When he starts to run out of options, he finally contacts Patrick and offers him a large sum of money if he is fortunate enough to have it in his hands. Rockwell ends up failing. Although, they do decode the book before they have to jump ship to find the answer.
Do you know Bacon's code?
********* ** *****

THE FEAR:10/8/2013 SOILER ALERT!~Stanley Suter

• Create a ‘WANTED’ poster for the antagonist.

           The antagonist of this book would have been the human-eating-grown ups. The adults eat all children under 16 because it helps fight the disease that is eating away at their bodies. In the children's bodies are a chemical that was injected by scientists to prevent the disease from infecting them. After the disease hits, kids band into groups and become stronger together, but even though they are strong, the mutants are getting stronger too. In the book the kids in the tower of london try to go out and find old friends. As they do they run into several groups of "sickos" and almost every time one member of their team is dead. Finally they meet a group that over powered them and killed all of the children out but one.

The Lady or The Tiger? Frank Stockman Ending

        

        Without the slightest hesitation, he picked the door on the right. Walking into the light of the amphitheater was the kings most beautiful servant as elegantly as the tapestries on the sides of the amphitheater moved in the slight breeze. The poor man smiled with delight, forgetting entirely about the princess and how torn she must be.  After the man and woman were married they made back to the mans house for a feast.

        At the feast the princess decided to come with her father to celebrate and talk to the newly wedded man. When the celebration died down and some people started leaving the princess finally had the chance to talk to the young man. They went down to the sub-basement and spent several hours plotting against the lovely woman, whom they both knew wasn’t the boys type. They finally decided they would try the most rare delectable dessert in the world, a fried Twinkie.

        They filled the Twinkie with the most harmful cleaning detergent that never should never be mixed. In recent years scientist have found all those who mix the ancient opposites may die very soon. At the end of dinner the beautiful woman noticed that the princess and her husband were acting very suspicious, and when they offered her the Twinkie and even had some for themselves she had a plan. She took their Twinkie's and played shells.

        She switched all of the Twinkie's until she knew no one knew were each one was. The man chose first, then the princess, then the woman. all that was to do now was wait...

        They took the body to were a close friend was on trial. The man made the mistake of choosing the tiger and it soon walked into the light just as the body, now in the mans hands had only a week before. The Twinkie plan (luckily) didn’t have the same problem with the girls father as it had her husbands old wife. As the tiger walked slowly forward, the body dropped, and before anyone could see the entire body was gutted and eaten. The princess and her new husband lived happily ever after.

The Fear 10/3/2013 SPOILER ALERT!

       Prompt: Summarize your favorite book. Make me want to read it!

         The book I have been reading was called The Fear, Pages 1-472. In the book, it has been a year after the disease struck that killed or turned the humans over 16 into child-eating mutants. Through this disease there are large, strong groups of kids that have been in strongholds trying to stay alive. In one of these strong holds (the Tower of London) there is a small group of kids that will separate from their group to find old friends. Their leader's name is Dognut and he is with a group of eight people with the same motive.
     
         At first Dognut and his small group head up the Thames river on a large raft.  About two hours later, when they are nearing their destination (the pier across from the Houses of Parliament) they spot kids in the houses yelling and waving their hands. When Dognut gets there the boat hits drifting debris and the boat sinks as they get out. A while later Dognut and his crew head out from he houses and head toward the palace, used to be the safest place in london, is now one of the most deadly. It is now ruled by a jerk named David. He and the boys from his school have set up a war time base and have make it so that the kids who come in won't come out.

        When Dognut enters David gives him a tour of the palace and shows how safe and organized the palace is, rotating blades along with razor wire line the fence, making it almost impossible to get anything in or out. Later that evening David starts hammering them with guilt and saying that there was no reason to go out a find their friends, as they would probably be dead. Dognut however is not going to be played with. When the sky goes dark he cuts a section of the wire out of the fence and stopped the rotating blades, they climbed though and were out. Finally, after being assaulted by hordes of grown-ups the kids make it to the natural history museum, where they found the people that the search party was looking for, the separated kids joined together again.

        As the group now makes its way back to the Tower, they see four grown-ups in the woods. Anxious to take their anger out, they go in to attack and are soon swamped by more in a trap. Unfortunately for them, only one of the children make it out and she is forced into the palace with David, how ever she is safe for now, as she had a facial injury and they didn't recognize her. Finally she saw that they trapped the leaders of a group they were using for fighting and helped them get away at her sacrifice.      

My Favorite Book of All Time.

             My favorite book of all time is "The Dead" because all of the action and how Charlie Higston described, keeping me at the edge of my seat. It had gruesome details on how diseased "zombies" massacred anyone under 16. In the story a deadly disease is spread to anyone over 16 years old because in 1996 a chemical was released into the baby's bodies, making them immune to the virus. How ever, scientists never found a cure for the fast spreading disease making many cities die out. Unfortunately for the kids left over, the chemical was still in their bodies making the disease stay away and being a cure for the diseased, and so the diseased  feasted on the children's bodies to help fight the disease. The book focuses on a group of kids that make their way through london to the tower, a basic design but made to be defended.

          This is my favorite book of all time because of the emotions it bestows upon the reader. Another reason is in the book there are three friends and when two of them die in a tragic event, the other goes on a mad killing spree, giving awesome detail and gore. A third reason I love the book is the striking tragedy and how tough the kids become after a very short period of time. I think part of the reason I like the book so much is because of the fact that I can imaging myself in the position of one of the main characters and fighting to protect myself. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a deep action novel. ~