Book Trailer

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All We Have Left

All We Have Left, by Wendy Mills, is a story about two girls: Jesse, and Alia. However, it tells their stories 15 years apart, and their stories are connected by one person; Travis. Travis died in the 9/11 attack, but before he died he tried helping Alia, a muslim teenager, to escape. Alia was in the building to see her father. She dreamt of going to college and becoming an artist but her parents didn't support her. She got caught caught holding a joint, so they grounded her. She tried persuading her mother that it wasn't hers but she wouldn't listen. She went to talk to her father in hopes he'd listen to her.  We don't know yet if Alia ends up making it out alive or not, although we know Travis did not make it. Travis is Jesse's older brother.  Jesse struggles with her brothers death, and ever since, her home has been filled with grief and anger because of her father. I feel like her father doesn't really know how to handle the situation.  Jesse gets involved with the wrong crowd and she ends up getting in trouble for graffitiing "terrorists go home" on an islamic peace center. I was surprised when she did this. It appears Jesse is looking for someone to blame.  She has so much anger built inside her she doesn't really know what to do. So far I've found this story really interesting. There's not many novels out there where you get to see two different stories in one book. I think it's really creative how the two stories are connected as well. 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting read. It follows two boys, Dante and Ari. Dante is more open with himself and knows what it is he wants. While Ari on the other hand is more soft spoken, and isn't sure how to feel sometimes. Ari's character really caught my attention. He's more complex than Dante, and you have a lot to learn about him throughout the book. It's more realistic the more complicated a character is. I liked how the relationship between the two came about. They found out secrets about themselves they didn't know before. Dante is open with his sexuality and Ari doesn't seem so comfortable with it at first. He doesn't stop Dante from doing anything, he just kind of lets it happen. I believe this is when he starts to realize who he really is. I feel like this story can be relatable for many people. It has many realistic factors and events that happen throughout the book, that can happen to everyday people.
When Ari saved Dante, I was really shocked that whole scene happened. It was such a selfless move on Ari's part, and it goes to show you how much Ari really does care about Dante. Although Ari doesn't want any praise from it, what he did was really brave. Dante ends up moving to Chicago, and they write letters to each other. Dante writes the majority of the letters. I can relate to this aspect of the story in the sense of having a relationship with someone who's far away. It can be hard and difficult at times. Overall I thought this novel was a good read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a good story.

Finishing American Born Chinese

I found this book to be one of my favorite reads so far! It was easy to follow, and it wasn't hard to fit all the reading in for the week. I even wanted to read father than the required length. In the beginning I was hesitant since it was a comic book, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. For it being my first comic book, I'd say it was a success. There were a few moments where I was confused with what was going on however. The ending was completely surprising. I didn't expect that crazy of an ending. It was interesting to see how everything tied together in the end. Chin-Kee and Danny become their true forms. Chin-Kee becomes the Monkey King, while Danny becomes Jin Wang. And Wei-Chen is the Monkey King's son. This comic book is a story about wanting to fit in. Although the author shows it in a drastic form, it's realistic. I was confused in the beginning as to how these stories were going to tie together, but I am happy with how the book ended. It's an interesting way to view this topic rather than reading a standard novel. And it goes to show you to embrace who you are, and don't try to hide it. Everyone is unique in their own way. You can try to be someone you aren't but you can't change who you are. It's a very realistic topic that many people seem to struggle with. I liked how the meaning behind these crazy stories is actually relevant. Throughout the book, it seemed like every seen had an importance to the bigger story.

American Born Chinese

In the beginning of this book, I was disappointed to see it was a comic book. I've never read a comic book before so I assumed I wouldn't like it. But as I read further I found it interesting and easy to follow for the most part. The book follows a few different characters. This includes a Monkey King, a teenage boy names Jin Wang, and the third is another teenage boy named Danny. I find the Monkey King to be the most interesting character. He's a monkey that masters kung-fu and other things in many forms. He seemed like an everyday, nice monkey until one night he goes out and everything changes. He loves to go to dinner parties until one day he is not allowed inside because he doesn't have shoes. He gets extremely angry and freaks out. When he gets home to his mountain, he then goes into isolation to master other arts. This includes: invulnerably to fire, invulnerably to drowning, invulnerably to cold, and invulnerably to wounds. He wants everyone to view him as a god. He goes off to show off his powers to everyone. The story also follows a young male named Danny. His life is going fine until his cousin comes into town. Danny has changed schools every year since 8th grade. This is because his cousin visits once a year and ruins everything when he does. Jin Wang meets a new kid, Wei-Chen Sun who tries to become friends with Jin. Jin is reluctant but eventually they become best friends. Wei-Chen is thankful for Jin because he showed him the American ways and taught him a lot. He said without him, he doesn't know what things would have been like. So far I've enjoyed this comic book and I'm excited to finish it up!

Finishing Brown Girl Dreaming

I liked Brown Girl Dreaming overall. However, I still prefer the traditional style of writing but the free verse was interesting and easy to follow. The stories she told were intriguing, and at times I could feel like I was really there. Jackie moves around with her siblings for a while until they finally meet their mother in New York. I found Jackie's mother to be an interesting character. I could relate in the fact that she seems strict and some of her rules are too much in the sense that my mom was that way growing up. However, the mother had reasoning for acting the way she did, and she just wanted the best for her children.  Jackie begins to write and writes a story on butterflies. Other people didn't understand how she could write about something so small and something that only lives a short lifespan. But to her, nothing died on paper, on paper butterflies could live forever. I found that thought really interesting because that's not something usually thought about. Her teacher acknowledges the fact that Jackie is a talented writer and mentions it to her. I think that definitely meant a lot for Jackie to her, especially coming from her teacher. I feel like that inspired her to write more. In the beginning of the book I had a hard time seeing the events come together, everything seemed like a separate story. But as I read further into the book, I felt more like I was reading one story and the events began to come together more. As the story goes on, Jackie's grandfather dies. She was close to her grandfather so this was a tragic event for the whole family. I felt bad for them. I feel like this was definitely a turning point for Jackie, and it seems like that was when she really started to realize things.

Brown Girl Dreaming

We started a book called Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. The book is written more in the form of poetry rather than a standard novel text. I don't think I like this way of writing as much as I like the other way. It's easy to follow, it's just not as capturing I guess. I find it kind of boring. The poems are interesting in the sense that this actually happened to someone and this is her story, but I don't see much of a story yet. It just seems like bits and pieces of her life. It doesn't seem to flow very well, almost every page is a different topic. Aside from the writing style, the deeper meaning of the words she writes are incredibly captivating. It's so different than how things are now. Jacqueline was born on a Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio in 1963. Jacqueline, her mom, and her two older siblings moved to South Carolina, however her mom doesn't plan on making that permanent. They stay with her grandparents.You don't read too much about her dad. Jacqueline's mom appears to have raised them rather strictly and 'properly'. I was surprised when Jacqueline's brother was whipped for saying "ain't". That isn't something that would happen today. Usually a parent would just scold their child or something, but then again times have changed and people look at the "right" ways to discipline your children differently. Jacqueline's relationship with her grandparents seems to be a loving and caring relationship. There's multiple scenes when she explains times they were treated unfairly because of the color of their skin. She said when they would walk to the store, people would watch them the whole time they were shopping. I'm curious to see if more of these events line up and if more of a story will grow.

YDWTKYA #2

I thought 'Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass' was an okay book. There were many times when it made me angry though. The bullying scenes are what bothered me but I wish I had known more about Yaqui's character and why she acted the way she did. Bullying was in my opinion, the biggest issue in this book. The author takes it to a deeper and more serious level. I definitely think the bullying is realistic, but I don't think that's the most common type of bullying. The bullying in this book seems more extreme. For most people that experience being bullied, it appears to be more mild. Throughout the novel, Piddy has a series of bad events happen to her. Yaqui continues to bully her regardless of what Piddy does. I feel like the ending could have been better however. I wish Piddy didn't have to switch schools because I feel like in a way that is showing that Yaqui had won. She was able to get rid of Piddy. Yaqui also should have had more consequences. A suspension is not going to fix her. It's just the easy way for a school to say they are trying to help stop bullying when in reality it's not that easy. For all the awful things Yaqui did to Piddy, a suspension just doesn't cut it. It won't fix anything. I wonder what would have happened to Yaqui if the book were to continue. Would she find someone else to bully? Would she change? I think this book does a good job at representing bullying and how it can affect people, but I think the ending should have been a bit different. As much as I wish it had ended differently, I think it shows you that not everything can be fixed completely and that's the point. Not every negative situation can be solved so easily. 

Youth Lens

I will be writing about Youth Lens and it's relativity to Eleanor and Park. Youth Lens can be defined as the way adolescents are perceived in literature. In Eleanor and Park, ultimately the parents have control over the things their children do. Eleanor and Park are seen as 'adolescents' and because of that, they have certain limitations and responsibilities to fulfill within society. They have to follow more rules and are limited to what they can do because of their age. For example, when Park and Eleanor hang out at his house, they are allowed to be in his room, but the door has to be open. Depending on how sheltered a child is, will determine how they grow up. This can vary depending on the child's household growing up. They may grow up to be more independent or they may grow up relying more on others. Youth Lens also talks about adolescents and their sexuality and how that fits into society. We are told that certain ways are right when it comes to our sexuality and what we like. We are made to feel certain ways, so if we don't agree with society and social 'norms' we feel out of place. When in reality that shouldn't be the case. No one should have to hide who they are. Park is worried he might be gay at times because he's attracted to things maybe the average boy wouldn't find attractive. But if people made being open okay, then he wouldn't feel out of place. Youth Lens is an interesting way to look at adolescence. It's interesting to really analyze and think about why kids do or don't do certain things, because it's not really something thought about everyday.

YDWTKYA

We just started the book Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, by Meg Medina. So far I haven't found this novel to capture my attention too much, but it's much easier to follow than Feed. The characters are kind of young for my liking and I want to read something more for adults. It seems slow moving and the story theme is similar to Eleanor and Park. There's bullying going on of course, and it appears to be a big focus in the novel. Piddy, is the main character in the book. Piddy moves in the beginning of the story, and she lives with her mom. Her dad isn't a part of her life, and she wonders what it would have been like if he was. Piddy and her mom don't always see eye to eye, she wishes she was more understanding. This story shows a lot of childhood issues that we can all encounter at one point or another. Including bullying, or feeling like you don't fit in. I don't understand why Yaqui is so mean to Piddy. And I don't understand why you wouldn't get mad at your boyfriend for staring at another girl's ass, instead of the chick he's looking at! It's not her fault. That made no sense to me. She does many terrible things to her. I feel bad for Piddy because she doesn't really have any friends and her best friend had moved. She seems to feel alone. And it doesn't help that she doesn't have the best home life either. This story is depressing so far, and I'm hoping eventually some positive events will happen.  I'm curious to see what will happen in the story between Piddy and her mom and Piddy and Yaqui.

Subvertisement

So for our subvertisement assignment we were supposed to find an original ad and subvert it to what we think it's portraying. I wasn't sure which kind of ad to use, until I found an American Apparel ad with a man in-between a woman's legs. So many ads today are trying to basically say, "If you buy our products you will look and feel sexy". That's the most important thing in today's society; fitting in and looking good (according to society). It seems as if this ad is trying to attract young males in particular. It's saying if you buy these clothes, it will be easier for you to get into women's pants. You will look sexy, you will feel sexy. Sex is basically what this ad is representing, and to many young males, that's appealing. It draws their attention. I also feel as if it's demeaning towards men, however that isn't the ads intent. But by putting a man in-between a women's legs, that basically saying all men only want sex. That's all they care about. It demeans the woman in the ad by saying that basically all you have to do is look good and a woman will have sex with you. Women don't care about your personality, we're "easy". This ad is a good example of what many other clothing companies are trying to portray. They all have the same goal, and that's to get consumers to buy their products. And many portray that in the same way, by having some sort of discreet sexual ideologies in their ads because that's what they think is going to attract younger audiences. Below I have my original ad, and then the ad subverted to what I believe it actually means.

 

Feed #3

To start off, I found a few similarities between Eleanor and Park and Feed. A major theme going on was the idea of fitting in and following social norms. Violet is a good example of someone who stands out from the crowd, as well as Eleanor and Park. They all see things differently, and don't care so much about what others think. Overall I didn't like feed all that much. I was disappointed that Titus couldn't see eye to eye with Violet. The fact that he just wanted to fit in with his friends makes me angry. They're all brainwashed by their feeds, and I was expecting more of an outcome in the book, but it ended pretty much how it began. I also wish he had been more sympathetic towards Violet when she had gotten sick. I wasn't surprised by how he acted though. He's a teenage boy and probably doesn't really know what it is he wants, and Violet was just too different for him. But you would think someone would care just a little bit more. I was glad he ended up talking to Violet's father and was able to see what Violet had to go through. I feel like it had opened his eyes. I feel like the overall message of this book is that this is what has come or will continue to come of our world if we continue the way we do. In the olden days, some of the things we do today for beauty and to feel good, would be appalling and unthinkable in their time, just like some of the events that happened in Feed is disgusting to us.

Feed #2

As I continued to read Feed, I found it a little easier to follow. It became more interesting, but it still isn't as good as I would have hoped. One thing I completely don't understand in this book is the lesions. Why do people think they look good? It's basically cuts and sores on your body. When Quendy came into the party with all the lesions all over her, I was disgusted. It makes me think she should be in constant pain or something, nothing about it seems good. I think the Feed has major control over these people and their perception of things. They try to make lesions seem "cool". As well as convincing you of all sorts of other things. It reminds me of our world today and how consumed we are by technology. Obviously our world today isn't as bad, but the media does have control over what we see and hear and can try to change our perceptions of things. The book just multiplies that by a hundred.
The fact that Violet wants to fight the feed is awesome. I just wish more people around her would see it the same way. She's not like everyone else, she sees what the feed has done to everyone. I'm curious to find out who all turns against the feed, if anyone else does. Another random moment that I thought was interesting was when Titus mentioned taking a few vacations in the ocean. Did he literally mean IN the ocean? I've come to realize I can't really put anything past this book. It continues to surprise me. I can't imagine how that could be sustainable and work. But if that was realistic, that'd be pretty cool. He also said there was a lot to do there, and I can't think of many things to do in the deep waters.

Feed

Feed by M.T. Anderson, I've found to be very interesting. It's not quite like any other book I've read. At first I found myself really bored with the whole story. It took me a little while to get into the book, but after the first 70 pages or so, I found myself being able to follow the book more easily. I was confused in the beginning as to what was going on. The way they speak sometimes is strange and I'm not sure what they mean. I also don't completely understand the 'feed' and how it works. I wish the book had gone into more detail about how their world works in the beginning. But the further I read, the more of an understanding I got. It's kinda cool how they are able to do these things on the moon and it makes me wonder if one day, we will have the technology to be able to prosper on the moon that way. 

I like Titus' and Violet's relationship a lot. Titus is completely intrigued by Violet in the beginning of the book, and I was excited to see what comes of their relationship.  It isn't typical and they started out as friends which I like. That way they can learn more about each other before jumping into anything. The way they interact with each other gives them this sort of connection that stands out from everyone else. He doesn't hit on her like the other guys do. And I like that Violet is different than everyone else. It makes the story more interesting. Another thing I like about the book is although it isn't realistic at this moment in time, the relationships and the 'feed' are realistic. The relationships are like any relationship nowadays. And in my opinion I feel like the 'feed' represents our government. They control everything. So far I can say I enjoy reading this book and I'm curious for what is going to happen next. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys some sci-fi or fantasy.

Eleanor & Park

A lot started going on in the end of Eleanor and Park. Richie finds out about Eleanor and Park and goes completely mad, searching the city for Eleanor. This whole scene I was pretty anxious about what was going to happen. Eventually Eleanor and Park decide that going to Minnesota to live with her uncle would be the best option. Park gets permission from his parents and they begin their trip. I was a little shocked that his parents were so okay with Park driving that far, but I'm glad they were. It was sad the moment Park dropped her off, because you could tell neither of them wanted to accept what was coming next, but they had to. Saying goodbye to someone you care about is never an easy thing and I really felt for them in that moment. I was completely surprised that Eleanor and Park didn't end up together. I thought for sure that they would. But I feel as Rowell did this because in most situations today things don't seem to work out, and that's just life. I still was expecting a happier ending. I was glad Eleanor finally said something to her mom about the situation at home. It's about time someone said something so the other kids don't have to continue to go through what Eleanor did.   I just hope it makes a difference. I was annoyed with Eleanor for never opening up Park's letters and never sending any of her own. I feel like Park deserves better than that after everything they went through. Overall it was a book I definitely enjoyed reading. It was easy to follow, and Rowell did a good job of keeping the content interesting. There's many important themes throughout the book and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read!

Eleanor & Park

I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed reading this book. When I first started out I wasn't sure if it would be something I could get into, but it definitely was. The further I read, the more of an understanding I get of Eleanor and Park. When Eleanor calls the police on Richie, I was hoping Richie would get taken away. However, that wasn't the case. It makes me mad how awfully he treats his family. And I wish someone would stand up to him, or do something to make him stop. I don't understand how someone can put up with that for so long when they have the option for things to be better. We finally figure out what happened to Eleanor the day she was kicked out by Richie. Eleanor blames herself for edging Richie on to make him react the way he did. When in reality, it's not her fault at all. She was simply using a typewrite to type lyrics and the noise bothered Richie. It's not her fault he is the way that he is. There's so many moments I want to just jump in the book and tell Richie off.
So far in this novel I've come across many themes. It seems Rowell is portraying a theme of family and isolation to name a couple. Eleanor's and Park's families are worlds apart. And she shows us the struggle families goes through. Clearly some have it worse off than others. The theme of isolation is shown to us through the fact that in the beginning both characters feel alone. They feel different and like they don't fit in. Eleanor especially considering her home life. I like how this story is relatable and it really makes us think outside the box and pay attention more to our surroundings.

Eleanor & Park

The story starts out with Park sitting on the bus trying to ignore his peers who made nasty remarks on his ethnicity. The story then switches to Eleanor's point of view. I think this is an interesting way to tell a story because you not only get one person's perspective, but two people's perspective for the same story. Eleanor and Park both seem to be misunderstood individuals. That gives them something in common. They continue to sit on the bus next to each other, but the ride consists of silence. Eleanor appears to be quiet and holds a few secrets of her own. Eleanor's home life seems to be depressing. The family had just moved and they are struggling. I feel like Eleanor feels somewhat neglected. She doesn't get much recognition from her family at all. Her step-dad is a negative aspect of her home life. Everyone seems to be afraid of him, and the kids don't want anything to do with him. Eleanor's mother picks her up from school one day, and Eleanor pretends to not notice the bruises on her mom's wrists. While Park on the other hand appears to have a steady home life with a loving family. So far in this book we are continued to be presented with new aspects of their life. The two live completely different lives, however, they have more in common than they think. Eleanor and Park continue to not speak very much for a good portion of the book. They silently watch each other and are learning things about one another without even realizing it. The way the interact seems a bit odd, but they don't seem to care that they haven't talked. I feel like they have an inner connection that no one else knows about, and that's pretty awesome.