Looking for Alaska was an incredible book. I chose this book out of the other choices because it was written by John Green. Although I have not seen nor read The Fault in Our Stars, another book by John Green, I have heard so many amazing things about it. Since people speak so highly of The Fault in Our Stars, I came to the conclusion that if one of his books is great, some of the others may be great as well. Another reason my attention was drawn to this particular novel was because I heard it was going to be turned into a movie. I decided that it would be a good idea to read to book before watching the movie.

            The main personal connection I noticed in the book was that Miles wanted a fresh start and wanted to truly discover himself. He did this by making new friends and experiencing new things-good and bad. I understand what he’s going through because I feel as if finding myself is one of my main goals of my high school experience.

            I really enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to all of my friends. I think that people around my age could benefit from reading some of Miles’ experiences and struggles and relate to them.

Looking for Alaska by John Green is truly an astounding book. Here is my favorite section from the end of the book:

“…Those awful things are survivable, because we are as indestructible as we believe ourselves to be... We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are.  We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations…But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail.”

            The words from the quote were describing Miles’ new realization. Throughout the whole book Miles was searching for something more. He wanted to find the Great Perhaps, the way out of the labyrinth, and just the meaning of life itself. Those words were expressing that you can make it through any hardship as long as you have hope. Situations in life may change us and try to tear us down but in reality, we cannot be destroyed. He believes that people are more than just matter; and that there has to be a place for the greater parts of us.

This book is has so much depth to it that you can’t help but wonder some of the same things Miles does.

Looking for Alaska has a very unique structure. It begins with a “before” section. This section is made up of a continuous count down to the most important and impactful event of the story- Alaska’s death. Following the “before” section is the “after” section. This section is doing the opposite of the previous “before” section; it’s continuously counting the days that have passed since Alaska’s death.

The theme that stands out the most to me is death. Although it’s a harsh conception, it’s an important one. The whole book revolves around Miles trying to figure out what happens when you die, Alaska’s mother’s death, and eventually Alaska’s death. John Green, the author, once stated, “…the story was about whether (and how) one can live a thoughtful, hopeful life in the face of unresolvable ambiguity.” In the book’s case the “unresolvable ambiguity” is caused by Alaska’s death.

Miles, Alaska, The Colonel, and Takumi are all individually complex. Miles wants to find the Great Perhaps
. He discovered the Great Perhaps while reading the biography of the poet François Rabelais. Rabelais’ last words were, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps”. Miles soon realizes that doesn’t want to wait until his dying days to seek the Great Perhaps. Alaska herself lacks complexity. Her complexity lies within her death. Did she commit suicide or was it just and accident? Takumi wants to be wanted. He was secretly in love with Alaska but she was in love with someone else. He also constantly felt left out by Miles and The Colonel. Lastly, The Colonel complex mainly because of his contradicting character traits. He smokes, drinks, and purposefully tries to get kicked out of Culver Creek basketball games and yet; he is one of the smartest kids in his whole school. He is a natural born leader with unquestionable authority. The question is: why waste his undeniable potential with illegal and immature activities?  

 

The book I decided to read is Looking for Alaska. Some of the main characters so far are Miles “Pudge” Halter, Alaska Young, Chip “Colonel” Martin, and Takumi. The beginning of the book takes place at Miles’ home in Florida. He then leaves his home town, and heads for Birmingham, Alabama where Culver Creek Preparatory School awaits him. The conflict in the book is person vs. self. Miles is trying to find himself. He thinks that Culver Creek can offer him more than his school in Florida. When he arrives at his new school, his roommate gives him the nickname Pudge. Miles went from having no friends and being antisocial to having friends and feeling as if he actually matter. His transition from Miles to Pudge was far from smooth. He started smoking, drinking, and defying authority. During this transition, he befriended Alaska, the Colonel, and Takumi. They all played a huge role in Miles finding his true self-especially Alaska. Alaska was a beautiful, intelligent, and self-destructive girl who Pudge fell in love with the moment he laid eyes on her.

Is Miles going to find himself? Is he going to change for the better? Is he going to end up with Alaska?  

Bad Girls don't die:best part about my book

I absolutely love the book Bad Girls don't die. Some of the best parts about this book are;

It's suspenseful and intriguing and always makes me want to read on. It has a certain creepy factor to it that makes it worth reading. The author, Katie Alender, portrays the character Kasey as an almost troubled young girl. She's twelve and yet, she still obsesses over her dolls. It's to the point that she won't even let anyone go into her room with the fear that they may harm her precious dolls. Katie Alender connects Kasey to one doll in particular. The doll and Alexis connect in unique ways, such as their eyes. She gives subtle foreshadowing hints as to what's coming next.

This book never fails to draw me back. I feel as if I am in the story going through these events with the characters.

Bad Girls don't die: The author

The author of Bad Girls don't die is Katie Alender. She has written Bad Girls don't die, From Bad to cursed, As Dead As it gets, and Marie Antoinette Serial Killer. She grew up in South Florida and went to Florida State University Film School.

She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and dog. Her hobbies include reading sewing, writing, and photography.

I can't wait to see what other wonderful books she will create.

http://katiealender.com

Bad Girls don't die:Symbols

     In the book Bad Girls don't die there are various symbols that represent the characters.


     A symbol that represents Alexis is a camera. This represents her because she is an outsider that watches the world instead of being involved with it. She's a one of a kind person, just like a one of a kind picture.


     A symbol that represents Alexis sister, Kasey , is a doll. Not only is Kasey obsessed with dolls, but she's also being possessed by one. A doll represents her because she is a very childish twelve year old. Most twelve year olds are too mature to "play" with dolls. When I hear the word dolls, I think of kids.

                                                                    

Bad Girls Don't Die-connections

Throughout this book I've made various connections.

     One connection that I made was a self-text connection. Alexis, one of the main characters, said, "I lifted the contact sheet out of the developer and put it in the next tray, the stop bath, which stops the emulsion from reacting to the developer chemicals." I made a connection to this because I am currently in the Photography 1 class at school and I have to go through those steps every time I develop a picture that I have taken. step-by-step-guide-to-developing-black-and-white-t-max-film--photo-2580

     Another connection I made was text-world. The book said, "Then how would we afford...?" This quote is something a lot of people ask themselves nowadays. A lot of people are struggling in the economy and have to worry about how they can afford groceries or rent or bills. This quote appeals to everyone-no matter the race or age.

Bad Girls don't die-most important line

     In my mind, the most important line of chapter seven was, "Her eyes... They were green." This line was said by Alexis, the main character, about her sister, Kasey. This was right after she made up a story to tell her. Events in the story were popping up in her head as if she was there watching them happen. She could see everything she was saying lucidly in her mind. The girl in the story, not surprisingly, had bright green eyes.
 
     Now, you may be thinking, "Who cares about green eyes?"
 
     The line isn't important just because Kasey has green eyes. It's important because Kasey was born with blue eyes. The character in Alexis' "made up" story has green eyes. I'm guessing this is foreshadowing because Kasey is seemingly morphing into the character in Alexis' story. Also in Alexis' story, the character was obsessed with dolls. In the book, Kasey is also obsessed with dolls. The line has helped me connect events throughout the book.

Krista Ramsey: Better way of dealing with bullies

The column was about bullying from two perspectives: The bully's and the victim's. It tells us how bullying is too serious to be overlooked.

To me, the best written line is, "Finally, that other key group of children -- the witnesses -- are held up to accountability." This line is very important because people think that the only people involved with bullying are the victims and the bullies themselves. They're wrong. The witnesses are the most valuable people because they can help the victims in ways that the victims can't help themselves. Krista uses dashes to separate the word "witnesses" to show its importance by making it stand out. She also used the elevated word accountability instead of responsibility, to show that the standards the witnesses are held to are high.

Krista's style is journalistic and terse. An example of this in this column is,"But today, the stakes are too high. Desperate victims are turning to violence to deal with their harassers. Others, feeling permanently imprisoned, consider suicide." She said her point bluntly. Another example from the column "For better vision, kids need time outdoors" is ," What they saw was a common factor among kids who weren't myopic- and that was more time spent outdoors." Once again, she went straight to her point. Lastly, in the column " Super Bowl QBs score points for great style" she again goes straight to the point by saying," And you look down at your fitted blazer and heels in a sea of shorts, T-shirts and nylon jackets at your daughter'a college graduation, you probably wonder why you bothered. Keep bothering."

Some questions I would ask Krista: What inspired you to become a columnist? How do you decide which writing style would be most effective? What steps did you have to take to become this successful? 

http://enquirer.com/columns/ramsey/1998/12/120598kr.html

Bad girls don't die-setting

     The book I just started reading is Bad girls don't die by Katie Alender. It mainly takes place at two places. Alexis' school and house. Her school is called Surrey High School and she lives in a large old house. She described her house as, "(...) an ancient one with carved shingles, creaky overhangs, and an enormous stained-glass bay window." The story takes place in present time because she uses dialect such as, "Oh, totally."

The Dash by Linda Ellis-Theme

     Today I read the poem “The Dash” by Linda Ellis. The theme of the poem is to live your life to the best of your abilities because you never know how much time you may have left. You should love and appreciate and care. You shouln't live your life with regrets. 


     The real life issue that was reflected in poem was that society focuses on all of the wrong things. We care too much about material things and not enough about what actually matters. The quote from the poems states,

"For it matters not, how much we own,

the cars…the house…the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

and how we spend our dash." 





Linda Ellis believes that you need to live life to the fullest because today could be your last. Make your dash count.

http://www.linda-ellis.com/the-dash-the-dash-poem-by-linda-ellis-.html

Most Important Line

While reading chapter seven, a few lines stood out to me. The line that stood out to me the most was, "She pulls her smile as wide as it can go, so no one will think for a second that she might not be enjoying this, fully embracing this gift."

Jennifer Briggis was named the ugliest girl in her grade three years in a row. Senior year was no different. Freshman year she made a huge scene when she saw her name on the list. She screamed and cried and even vomited on herself. After that incident, no one would talk to her. She lost all of her friends and everyone avoided her. Each year she cared less and less that her name was on the list. 

The line is important because it shows how the list has changed her. She freaked out as a freshman. Sophomore year she only shed a couple tears. She laughed junior year. By senior year, she had the mentality that being on the list was a gift. The list elevated her status at school. She did something that no girl had ever done before. To her, being on the list was a huge accomplishment. Her attitude towards this situation shows how strong her character truly is. I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I was in her shoes.

Describe how the different characters deal with conflict

The List has eight main characters. Four of them are extremely lucky. They are the prettiest girls from their grades. As for the other four-not so much.

The lucky four are Abby, Lauren, Bridget, and Margo.

Abby deals with the list extremely well. She's loves the idea of being the prettiest freshman at her school. She especially likes all the attention she gets. She was even invited to a sophomore party. Despite the fact that she had the chance to experience what most girls would dream of, it still isn't enough for her. All Abby really wants is to bond with her sister, Fern. She wants Fern's acceptance. She wants Fern to be proud of her for something the way she's always proud of Fern.

Lauren is feeling overwhelmed. She went from being homeschooled to instantly popular. Not too long ago she was adjusting from her old life to her new life. Sophomore year started off rough for Lauren. No one ever spoke to her or even made an attempt to help her fit in. When the list came out, all of that changed. Girls swarmed her daily, wanting to know more and more about Lauren's homeschooled life. They invited her places and included her in social activities. The sudden change in popularity is great, until she faces the reality that no one would be associating themselves with her if it wasn't for the list.

Bridget is struggling, but not for the reasons you may think. The summer before junior year, Bridget and her family went on vacation to the beach. She went to some stores to search for a cute bathing suit like she does every year. After searching for an hour or so, Bridget finally found the perfect bathing suit-and it was the last one in her size. She grabbed it and smiled, as she ran into the dressing room to try it on. She put it on and looked in the mirror. The bathing suit was tight in all the wrong places and Bridget was extremely confused. She decided to buy the bathing suit anyways, so that she could use it as motivation to lose a few pounds. She's been struggling with anorexia ever since. When the list came out it said "Bridget Honeycutt-What a difference one summer can make." This statement confirmed to Bridget that there was something wrong with who she was before, and what she's doing now is solving the problem.

All the list has done is made Margo's life more difficult. Margo's current best friends decided to start included Jennifer, the ugliest senior and Margo's ex-best friend, into their life. They even convinced Jennifer to run for homecoming queen against Margo. Is Margo going to solve her issues with Jennifer? Why does Margo hate Jennifer so much?

The unlucky girls of Mount Washington High School are Jennifer, Sarah, Danielle, and Candace.

The day the list came out was a very special day for Jennifer. It was the fourth year in a row that she was named the ugliest girl in her grade. Who would do something so cruel? Instead of putting on a scene like she did freshman year, she embraced it and cheered. The list actually helped Jennifer. She became a legend. Everyone knew her name. Thanks to the list, this year people are talking to her, including her in things, and even encouraging her to run for homecoming queen. She's ecstatic about making new friends. Even if those friends are the best friends of her ex-best friend, Margo. Jennifer put a positive spin on something awful. That's a lesson we all could learn from.

Danielle, A.K.A. Dan the man, was named the ugliest freshman. She tries not to let the list bother her, but let's face it, it does. She tries to think of the positives in her life, such as her boyfriend, Andrew, and her best friend, Hope, but the constant side comments of people yelling "Dan the man" makes that difficult. She fears that her boyfriend will break up with her because of the embarrassment.

Candace is far from ugly on the outside, but she is even farther from pretty on the inside. Candace is baffled by the fact that she was named the ugliest sophomore.If her own friends are getting tired of how rude she is, what makes her think that the rest of the school doesn't feel the exact same way? Her friends begin replacing her with Lauren, the prettiest sophomore, and resents her for it.  Beauty isn't just skin deep.

Sarah has unstable emotions. She hates the world for no reason, and pushes the people who care about her the most away. The day that the list came out, she decided to write the word "UGLY" across her forehead. She didn't want to give people the satisfaction of feeling sorry for her. The next day she decides that she isn't going to shower, brush her teeth, or change clothes for a full week. At the end of the week, she is going to go to homecoming wearing those same disgusting clothes. She wants to ruin homecoming for them like the ruin high school for her.

Research the author.

I did some research on the author of  The List.

The author is Siobhan Vivian. Vivian has also written the novels A Little Friendly Advice, Same Difference, Not That Kind of Girl, and The List. She teaches creative writing at The University of Pittsburgh. She was formerly a book editor and a screenwriter for children's television. 

Analyze conflicts

In the book The List, the author uses both internal and external conflict. I think there's more internal conflict throughout the book only because each chapter talks about one of the eight girls' lives. The external conflict is the list itself. The list ruins some people's lives and just flat out complicates others.

For example, in the pages a just read, the ugliest sophmore, Candace, isn't actual ugly. She's actually really beautiful but has an ugly personality. The list makes people, aka her friends, realize the kind of person she actually is. Candace is having trouble accepting the fact that she was named the ugliest sophmore. The only thing that matters to her is being pretty. The book said, "List or no list, Candace Kincaid is pretty. She knows it. Everyone knows it. And that's all that matters."

Characters are introduced

     So far in the book, Abby, Fern, Lisa, Danielle, Hope, Andrew, Candace, and Lauren have been introduced. Abby, Danielle, Candace, and Lauren are all on the list.

     Abby was named the prettiest freshman. The list said, "Bonus points awarded for overcoming family genetics!" Who ever wrote the list was talking about Abby's sister, Fern, who is nothing like her. Lisa is Abby's best friend.

     Danielle, aka "Dan the Man" was named the ugliest freshman. She's the ugliest freshman not because she's really ugly, but because she isn't as feminine as most girls. She's a tomboy and gets made fun of because of it. Hope is Danielle's best friend and Andrew is Danielle's boyfriend who she met at summer camp.

     Candace is far from ugly-the complete opposite actually. Since she's ugly on the inside, she ended up being named the ugliest sophomore. The list said, "Beauty isn't just skin-deep, btw".

      Lauren was named the prettiest sophomore. This is her first year not being homeschooled therefore she's not well known. My guess is the list is going to bring her instant popularity-more than she can handle.