Reading Response to Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

       I am reading the book Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  I am about half way through and so far I am really enjoying it.  It is an interesting book about a popular girl who gets into a car accident and is killed.  Though she keeps reliving the day of her death over and over again.  She can change the outcome of that day by her actions, but so far even if she hasn't died she repeats that day over again.  She is getting extremely frustrated and annoyed with having to do this day over and over again.  The same basic things keep happening to her and she doesn't know how to get out of this cycle.  She needs to be able to tell someone and she wants answers badly.  Though she can't talk to anyone because she is scared they will think she is crazy.
      During the day she was killed the popular girl, Samantha Kingston, was mean and unfair to multiple different people.  I think that the reason she is reliving this day over and over and over again is so she can learn to treat people that may not be as popular and pretty as her with respect.  She also needs to learn to stand up to her friends when she disagrees with their actions.  They can be really mean to people and she goes along with it in order to avoid being the one they taunt.
      I think a lot of people can relate to Samantha.  People treat others poorly when they see other people treating them poorly because they are scared that they will become the victims if they don't.  This is understandable, but needs to be changed.  Everyone should learn that people who bully others have a very low self esteem and aren't very comfortable with themselves.  We need to learn to stand up to our friends if they do something that we don't think is right.  We need to face our fears and help other people that are being disrespected because if we were in their shoes, we would want help too.

Reading Response to The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George

       This book is really interesting.  It is about two young girls that share a "forbidden love".  I have enjoyed reading it even though it is a little strange.  One girl, Jesse, cuts her hair with an army knife, and wears large rubber rain boots.  She has about two friends and doesn't care much about what people think of her.  The other girl, Emily, is student council vice president, very popular, really pretty, has beautiful soft hair, and a boyfriend.  These two kissed each other by accident and then sort of met up weekly from there on to hookup in secret.  Jesse would be fine if the whole world knew about them, but Emily on the other hand had a lot to lose and wanted to have a good reputation.  These girls are so different that they disagree on almost everything.  They especially disagree about a large company's involvement with their town.  The will to prove the other wrong about this company has given Jesse more confidence.  She finally earns the guts she needs to tell Emily that she is tired of hiding so they can't 'see' each other anymore if she wants to keep it a secret.
       In this book, The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George, Jesse is blinded by her love and excitement as well as confusion and guilt for her relationship with Emily.  She doesn't notice how great the two friends she has are, and how they are there for her when Emily is not.  Jesse wants to tell her friends about Emily, but decides against it for Emily's sake.  I think it is for the best that their relationship didn't work out because Jesse deserved more respect then she was getting.  Her best friends, Esther and Wyatt, treated her so much better.  Emily felt that she had a power over Jesse just because she was pretty and popular, and Jesse believed her in a way.
       It was interesting to read this book because it has a slight hint of a Romeo and Juliet theme going on with the forbidden love and the meeting in accident.  I wonder if this is what the author intended or if just a coincidence.  Whether if it is supposed to have a Romeo and Juliet theme or not, it is still a great book and I would recommend it to students in middle or high school, or anyone that likes a little realistic fiction.

Reading Response #2 to The Street by Ann Petry

       The book I'm currently reading called The Street by Ann Perry is very slow-going so far.  It has a ton of description which can be good and bad.  I think description needs to come in moderation, because too much dialogue can be confusing and too much description can be boring.  There is not a lot to talk about that is happening in the book because there is no major conflict or major character flaws appearing just yet, even though I have been reading it for about a week.  I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it because it is taking forever to read.
       One character trait that is present in the mother, Lutie Johnson, is that she is slightly overbearing towards her son and wants to protect him from everything.  I think this theme is very interesting because it is timeless.  All mothers are going to be overbearing and protective of their children at one time or another, because they simply want what's best for their babies.  Though most all children, especially in today's culture as well as books and movies, always seem to rebel against this affection or simply misunderstand it for cruelty and therefore grow apart from their family.  This is something that every child goes through and so does Lutie Johnson's son, Bub.
       Bub is attempting at making some "extra" money for he and his mom by shining shoes on the streets.  Lutie is always saying how "they can't buy this" or "don't waste your money on that" because they are not rich.  They are one of the many small families trying to survive in Harlem in the 1940s.  They didn't have a lot of extra spending money.  They barely had enough for food and rent.  So Bub thought the least he could do was help out a little buy making a few cents each day after school.  Though his mother did not approve of this.  She believed that boys who shined shoes on the street would never aspire for more and end up living on the streets all their lives.  Of course she wanted way more of her child so she slapped Bub when she found out what she was doing.  This confused Bub and made him sad and angry, because all he was trying to do was help yet he still got reprimanded.  Though once Lutie explained they figured things out and he understood.  This is a lesson for all children that parents just want the best for you, even though sometimes they can be confusing and aggravating.

Reading Response to The Street by Ann Petry

       I've begun to read The Street by Ann Petry, and so far it is a really interesting book.  I have barely gotten to the second chapter so there is not a huge conflict or anything, just a setting of the scene and stating the already existent problems, such as money and a child and its education.  These are common problems of most people in today's society so this makes the book more relatable to begin with.  This book though is a fictitious story about an African American family (a mother and a boy) who live in Harlem.  They lived with some family, but the mother decided that that was not a good environment for her young son, so she went looking for another apartment that they could move into.  This small life change would hopefully help her son grow into a prosperous young man instead of a drunk like some of his other family.
       The theme of doing what is best for your child and not for you is present here.  I think this is an important idea and difficult concept of parenthood because when you become a mother or father, it is no longer about you or what you want.  It is about what you child wants or needs.  The mother in this story knew that she had to get her son to a better home so she spent what she had worked for and saved to buy them an apartment.  She didn't think twice about it.  Even though this was her money and she would have been fine to stay living where they were living, she decided that the best thing to do for her child, rather then her, was to spend that money and move away.
       As I said, I have barely gotten to the second chapter so there is not much more in the story just yet. This book seems very good so far and is extremely descriptive of the setting.  I find that most stories lack a decent description of the setting, so that makes this book even better and fun to read.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially that takes place in New York.

Reading Response to Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

       I just started reading the book Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult.  This book is a little strange so far and I'm having a hard time getting into it.  I think that it is unlikely that I will finish reading it.  The story line confuses me and I am not completely sure what is happening right now in the book.  From what I can understand the main character, Paige, had a hard time living with her father once her mother left them.  She left home as soon as she turned eighteen to go make it on her own.  She was struggling and finally found a job at a diner where she met her future husband, who happened to be her first customer.  Paige dreamed of saving enough money to go to art school.  She was an extremely talented artist that had the ability to draw people's secrets into their portraits.  Paige drew portraits of the customers in the diner and the manager hung them up.  I am not very far in this book so no massive climax or problem has occurred other then the fact that she is on her own and barely making a living.
       A theme that seems pretty clear in this book is the people leaving their families to go do what makes them happy.  I support doing what you love and following your dreams, but I don't think you should have to completely abandon your family to do this.  Though there are some specific circumstances where you may want to get as far away from your family for whatever reason but overall I think the right thing to do is to include, or try to include your family in your life and goals and dreams.  They should be supportive of you no matter what.  That's what they are there for.  It is also a tad selfish to abandon your family for yourself.  They need you just as much as you need them.  There is no bond stronger than that of family and people need to keep that in mind.  You will always be connected to your family in some way whether you want to be or not.
       I find it sad that Paige ditched her father, whose wife had already left him.  Maybe when I get farther into the book I will discover the reason why the women in his life don't like him enough to want to get so far away from him.  Or it might possibly have nothing to do with him at all, just with their dreams.  I hope that Paige will be able to reconnect with her father at some point, and I am interested to find out what happens with her future customer and life as a diner waitress.

Reading Response to Cracked by K.M. Walton

       The book Cracked, by K.M. Walton, tells the story of a bully and the bully's victim and how the both end up in the same mental hospital.  This mental ward is specifically for children who have committed suicide.  They all have their different stories of why they thought it would be best if they weren't alive.  They work and support each other.  The bully, Bull, didn't actually try to kill himself.  He attempted at shooting his grandfather who was beating Bull, but somehow ended up shooting himself in the leg and played it off as suicide so he wouldn't go to jail.  The bully's victim, Victor, feels unwanted in the world.  He is a loner, and his parents hate him.  No one pays attention to Victor, except Bull.  Bull only pays attention to Victor when he is beating him up and abusing him.  Victor's only reason to not kill himself was his dog who he loved very much. But when his dog died, Victor saw no reason to keep him from ending his life.  This book shows the struggle of all of these kids and how Victor and Bull come to know each other better and work out their problems.
       Suicide in children is increasing rapidly nowadays.  I think this topic is just so depressing.  How can people possibly feel so bad about themselves that they don't want to live another second?  How can someone find joy in abusing someone to such an extent to where they no longer want to go on with life?  I simply do not understand.  Suicide is such a serious and depressing idea in our society today.  I personally like this book because these kids didn't attempt suicide for the most common reasons: bullying, cyber bullying, etc.  Those are common and terrible but I don't think people recognize that just not paying attention to your child can make them feel so unloved and terrible.   Most all of these kids in this ward were not given enough support to keep them from killing themselves.  This is so devastating I don't know how to comprehend it.  I am fortunate to have loving parents that have taught me so much.  But not everyone is as lucky.  I think that we need to find away to make everyone feel loved.  Everyone is special in their own way and no one deserves to think they are not good enough for this world.

Reading Response to Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

      I just finished reading a book called Article 5 by Kristen Simmons.  It is a dystopia about America after some HUGE war that changed everything.  The main character, Ember, was alive before the war and before the government drafted the only boy she had ever loved, Chase.  She remembers how everything used to be.  Though she hated the police (Moral Militia) she tolerated them being in her life. That was until they arrested her mother and executed her.  Her mother's "crime" did not deserve this at all.  The entire story describes Ember's journey back to her mother and how she is adjusting to the new Chase.  He told her that her mother was still alive to protect her feelings even though he knew she was dead.  Chase and Ember's love reignited after a lot of hardship and tragedy they experienced together.
       One element I found very interesting in this book is how all the sadness and anger has bonded so many people.  After the War a very strict government took over that hurt people every day.  Over time people started to stick together and form a resistance.  I think a main reason why people can bond over sadness is that there is just so much emotion and empathy that can be shared and related to.  People that have similar situations usually end up getting along, so if half the country all experienced the wrongdoing of the strict soldiers they were all able to form an alliance and friendship.  Everyone had lost so much and they needed people to be there for them.
       Another thing I found interesting was how even though someone can appear to have changed so much, they still are always going to be the same person deep down inside.  This was shown in the story when Chase was a sweet, kindhearted, protective guy who expressed his feelings before he was drafted.  Then after he met up with Ember again, which was to arrest her mom, he appeared to be a cold-hearted, empty-headed, soldier that didn't feel emotion or cared what happened to Ember.  Though throughout their journey and rebellion his old character began to show through again.  It started with the description of the pain in his eyes when he say Ember hurt.  Then it evolved to basically giving up his life to preserve hers.  This book had many different plot twists and I loved every minute of it.  I was never bored and looked forward to reading it.