Crank Reflection

I sincerely enjoyed reading the book Crank as my semester reading book.  I really liked the way the author structured the book, and how it wasn't the plain and boring ways that publishers and author's structured their books.  I feel that because it was written that way it was able to add to the overall quality of the book because it showed how unorthodox Bree was with the unorthodox way the book was written.  I personally believe that reading for pleasure is completely different from reading assigned books.  When you are reading for pleasure, you get to read at your own pace.  You don't have to be afraid of falling behind or reading ahead and spoiling it for someone else.  Also, you get to choose your book and read something that interests you and not something that the school board chose for your curriculum.  With the personal reading, I think that there were a few things that I did well.  One of which was that I subconsciously started connecting the books to other books that I had read.  That really helped me understand the book better, because of the weird way that it was written.  Also, because of the work that we have been doing in class, I felt myself also subconsciously figuring out what the theme was as I read, and how it changed and affected the character throughout the book.  I believe that something that I have to work on is identifying literary devices.  That is one of the many problems that I have even when I am told to be looking for them, and not just on my own.  I don't think I have a problem with keeping up however, because I really like the book.  However, when it is assigned I feel that I have trouble keeping up, especially when I do not enjoy the book.

Crank Reflection

Reading Crank was a wild trip. It starts off with a normal girl, quite relatable to any high school girl, unhappy with herself, and wishing she had more attention from guys. Kristina develops relationships that destroy her, and looses relationships with people that could save her. We see the change in Bree's personality and as she changes, we notice how she starts to pull herself away from old life, and dive headfirst inter her new life, maybe a little too deep. Even though I thought my reading experience with Crank was optimal, there are still some things that I want to work on. Finishing the reading on time isn't really an issue for me, but sometimes I finish too fast,  which leads me to forget some of the details of the book, as I've read multiple other books in the course of this assignment.  If anything, I would've chosen a book that was more challenging, or I would've waited longer to read Crank, or not finish it as fast as I did. I think I did a good job identifying the theme and connecting the characters, along with understanding details that depict how the characters evolve. This book peaked m interest because I thought it was a good amount of spooky, mixed with a fair amount of suspense and drama.

Orchards Reflection

I enjoyed reading this book because it was a very interesting, well written, fast read book. Reading for pleasure in my opinion is better than being assigned books. When reading for pleasure, I get to pick my own book based on what I like not on why the entire grade is reading. The only bad thing about reading for pleasure if constantly reminding yourself to read. Sometimes there were nights where I would completely forget to read at all... But while reading this book tracking the character development and identifying the theme came easy to me because the book was such an easy read. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was written in the form of many short poems. I also could relate to the book because it was coming from a teens perspective. Something that I know I would need to work on is to just keep up with the reading in general. As good as the book was and while I was reading it I didn't want to put it down, it was still very hard to keep up with reading this book on the side while reading an assigned book (Catcher In The Rye and Lord of the Flies). Other tun that, this book was overall a good book that I'd recommend to anyone who is a teen because it's very relatable.

Gone Girl Reflection

I greatly enjoyed the book Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. From the very beginning it was very suspenseful. Within the first couple chapters Amy is gone and it starts to get intense.  Throughout the whole book the suspense keeps up and I kept finding out more and more clues that I never would have seen coming. The ending is surprising and I never would have expected it. In addition to the suspense, this book is written in great detail which makes it easy for me to picture what is going on. The details also amplify the suspense. I also liked the never ending mystery in the book. It kept me on my toes and made me never want to put the book down. Another thing i enjoyed about the book is how it was written from two different views. It was really interesting to me to see the contrast in perspectives and made the book more enthralling. I really enjoyed reading on my own for pleasure compared to reading an assigned book. Reading an assigned book is more forced and if you don't like it you can't really do anything about it. I really liked being able to chose my own book that I thought would be good. I also like how we don't have to take any notes or quotes for pleasure books. That makes it a lot more enjoyable. I believe I did a good job tracking character development. I always made a mental note when a new character would come up so later if they came back again I would remember who they were and what their connection was the the min characters. I also sometimes wrote them down on a piece if paper so I would remember who they were. This would help me predict suspects and solve the mystery. In the future, I need to work on keeping up with my reading better. I tried to read every now and then but it definitely wasn't enough in the end. I ended up cramming it all in a few nights and it did not work out well. I wish I didn't put it off until the end. Next time I will try and pace myself more.

Eleanor and Park Reflection

Eleanor & Park Reflection

Although this book started off pretty slow, I ended up getting really into it and I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the book, in fact I cried when I finished it, not because of the ending necessarily, but because it was over and there was no more surprises to look forward to. I generally loved the whole book, from the plot to every aspect of the characters, to the twist ending that I wasn't really expecting. To be honest, this book affected me so much that I actually became interested in reading again. I used to read when I was younger but ever since we were required to read books in school I stopped reading for fun. And now I've started again, I already have a list of books I want to read! Reading this book for my pleasure was much different then reading assigned books from class. Because reading for pleasure makes me want to read and keeps me interested because I pick the book from my favorite genres. However, reading assigned books in class usually bore me and make me hate reading because it feels like it's a chore that I have to do. Occasionally, we do read a book in class that I enjoy, for example, I enjoyed Catcher in the Rye and I enjoyed to Kill a Mockingbird from last year. They both had powerful messages and kept me intrigued until the very end. Additionally, with assigned books to read I try to keep up with the reading and the work that follows, however with an independent reading book, I tend to fall behind or forget to do the work because I get too into my book. And although I didn't finish my book until pretty much the last minute, I do have to say that I did track the character development, I was able to identify the theme, and made connections with other things I've read as well as my personal life and my interests. For example, one reason I believe I was so attached to this book was because I love music, all kinds of music, and this book intertwined music with a beautiful love story. It was truly amazing how they bonded over music and various bands that they loved to listen to, because I knew a lot of the bands they talked about and it just filled me with joy whenever they mentioned their names. And although I loved this book and payed close attention to details, character changes, and the theme, I do believe that I have some things I need to work on. I need to work on keeping up with my reading so I don't finish last minute, and I need to work on being able to identify literary devices because I normally don't even notice them or disregard them while I read. But overall, this was a great reading experience that made me want to read more, especially books written by Rainbow Rowell, who wrote the book I read.

-Giuliana Ponterotto

In the Heart of the Sea final blog

Overall, I did end up enjoying the book In the Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick. Even though I felt that it start off slow with a lot of background information, I still managed to like it and I needed that information to understand the plot. Multiple times I got bored in the middle of this book and wanted to stop reading it, but I am very glad that I didn't because towards the end I really enjoyed it. Part of the reason that I enjoyed this book was because we read it for pleasure, not as a nightly assignment book. This gave me the freedom to stop reading if I got bored and I also never felt pressured that I had to rush through this book. With the personal reading, I think one thing that I did very well was tracking the plot through all of the information that was being thrown at me over the course of the book. Along with this I believe that I also was able to manage my time very well. While I could have easily just waited to finish this book in the last week and cram it, I was motivated to make sure that unlike most assignments, I could finish this with room to breathe. One thing that I realized that I need to work on during this personal reading was tracking character development. I don't know if it was the fact that this book didn't really have true and defined character development for all of the character or if I'm just not good at understanding details that hint at character development. This has always been one of my weaknesses and I hope that by the end of these year I can learn this skill.

In the Heart of the Sea- Reflection

 In the Heart of the Sea
     I did enjoy reading the book In the Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick . The plot of the book was very interesting and kept me going back and continue reading. One part of the book that I didn't expect was the action. I didn't think there would have been as much action as there was and thats what kept me wanting to read more. I also enjoyed the personality of all the characters and how they reacted while on there journey. I really liked this book and would recommend it for others.
     This pleasure reading assignment was much better then assigned reading book because I don't feel like I need to finish at a certain time. I feel that reading a book in class you are forced to read and some night are really just not the night that you want to read. While if I'm reading a pleasure reading book and I don't feel like reading its not a big deal for me and its not something I need to worry about. While reading the assigned books in class I didn't take the time to read my pleasure book but i was able to make up for it on the weekends and after the assigned book was finished.
     I feel that I did really well with keeping up with the reading and not having to cram in the whole book in the weekend before it was do. I didn't really have a schedule of when I should read the book but I had a Idea of where i had to be at certain times to be caught up in the book. One thing I need to work on was Identify the theme. I need to work on that because at some points in the book it did get confusing and I had to figure out what that part meant. Even though I was able to figure it out it would of been easier a and more fluent if I was able to identify the theme.
Lucian Tamburro

Gone Girl Final Reflection

Gone Girl is one of my favorite books that I have read. I love the mystery and suspense that it gave. At first, I thought the book went by too slowly. There wasn't anything exciting happening besides the fact that Amy was gone. It mostly told the story of Nick talking with the police and their investigations. The beginning was also confusing since every chapter was written from either Amy or Nick. It became confusing because the book kept on transitioning from past to present with both of their perspectives on their life. However, later on in the story, the book became very suspenseful. Nick was kept on being accused of being involved in Amy's disappearance and we find out how crazy Amy actually is. The ending is twisted and I never would've guessed what would happen. I personally liked reading a book on my own because I think that I make enough time to do that. I liked that I didn't have to annotate so that I could keep on reading. What I did well was tracking character development. It was easier to do that with this book because the story was being told from two different perspectives so I could compare the both of them. I tried to pace myself, but the book was almost 600 pages which made it more difficult. What I could've done better was reading more earlier on so that I didn't have to cram the week before it was due. 

Crank Reflection

This book was pretty good. The ending was very quick and it seemed rushed. The rest of the book was pretty good. It was written well. I liked how it was written as poetry and I also liked the genre. The book reminded me of several other really good books I have read. I hate reading assigned books because the book is normally not in the genre I like. The books are normally boring and everyone has already read them so you already know what happens. I like picking books because you can talk about with a few people, but no one will go up to you and tell you what will happen. This book was over pretty good. I liked the description and the suspense. It was kind of like Wintergirls and Go Ask Alice. It was kind of creepy in a way, which I also enjoyed. Overall, I would rate it a solid 4.5.

In The Heart of The Sea Reflection

I enjoyed reading In The Heart of The Sea for the most part. I really liked the story line of the book because I love adventure and these kind of lost stories. In my opinion, it didn't have enough action, but I did like the plot. I like reading for pleasure a lot more than assigned books because I feel less pressured to read when I am reading a book, I like to be reading something because I want to, not because I have to. I made many connections reading this book, because to some extent, it is similar to one of my favorite shows, Lost. This helped me picture many of the scenes in the book. Something I need to work on is my time management. I left the book alone for a while and I didn't get to enjoy it as much when I had to rush through it.

In the Heart of the Sea Reflection

I did not enjoy reading In the Heart of the Sea by Thomas Philbrick because the characters didn't develop by the end of the book. Reading for pleasure is different from reading an assigned book because if I don't like the pleasure book, I can stop reading it. I have to read an assigned book because if I don't, I will fail the class. I read the book, and it was very difficult to make connections because I do not like to read sea venturing novels.

A Long Way Gone Reflection

I did enjoy reading A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. I enjoyed reading this book because it delivered a strong message to the audience about the lives of kids my age in a third world country like Sierra Leone. I liked all the action that was involved and how it kept you at the edge of your seat as I read it. Reading from pleasure is much different than reading an assigned book in many positive and negative ways. A positive way it is different from an assigned book is you can read at your own pace. Also, you din't have to do process journals for your book which can feel more like work than pleasure reading. A negative difference between pleasure reading and assigned reading is that you may not understand the characters as much in pleasure reading. Many of the questions you have about the book are generally not answered in a group in pleasure reading so you have to answer them on your own. However, while I was reading this book I did pay attention to tracking character development. I tracked how Ishmael developed over time has a person. I kept track about his emotional changes throughout his journey and how he matured and slowly started to become a man at the end of the book. I need to work on making connections to texts I have already read as I was having trouble doing so. I just couldn't think of any books that are related to the book I read. Overall, it was a great book and it was fun reading it.

In the Heart of the Sea-Reflection

I did enjoy this book, but more specifically from the middle to the end of the book. The beginning of the book was awful boring. The first couple of chapters were used to give background information on Natucket and on whaling. I found this information not intriguing and somewhat repetitive. When the book got to interesting chapters from the middle to the end of the book, I was hooked. The Essex crew members journey of survival was very interesting.
Choosing a book to read was a lot different from reading an assigned book. I was able to read without stopping, which I normally would've had to do if I was reading an assigned book, due to annotations and such. I enjoyed picking the book too, for it gave me a chance to read something I would be interested in.
When reading, I was able to pay attention to details well. Due to the fact that I didn't have to stop and annotate, I was able to pay attention to details better and understand the flow of the story a lot better as well. There were few if any literary elements in this book, and I did not make any strong connections to the text.
I need to work on tracking character development better. It was hard to track the development in this book because it really isn't written like a normal book in the first few chapters, instead its written more like an informative essay. Once the book actually started to talk about the Essex voyage, I found it hard to keep track of the character's character, for the author jumped from one person to another too quickly.

Butter- Final update

The book butter is a heart warming book about a boy who is over weight and an outsider in his school. With few friends butter is desperate to be the center of attention, or just to be noticed once in his high school. He doesn't do this by reaching out and talking to people or joining more after school activities, but he makes a suicide post on a school blog for everyone to see. Not only that but the post is a threat that he is going to eat himself to death. He asks people to suggest food ideas for his "death menu", which they do in a cruel and mocking way. Butter has also made a fake relationship online with a girl from his school who he really likes, but with all of the lies he told her online compared to who is he is real life, it is almost impossible for him to ever come clean to her and fix all of the damage he has already done. Although the book does have some funny moments, it is for the most part very serious and deep. In the end the reader is left with a partial cliff hanger when Butter has come clean to the girl he likes, re-connected with his true friend, is alive in the hospital, but has barely begun to regain his health and start to lose weight.

Gone Girl Reflection

Gone Girl

I enjoyed my book, for many reasons. First, it was so unpredictable, every move was the opposite of what I thought could happen. And that really made reading it so much more fun from the shock I would get when I flipped the page. Also, it was really interesting and just had a really creative plot and idea to the whole story. Even though we were assigned to read this and finish book, it was still pleasurable. Picking and reading our own choice of books is more pleasurable because we as individuals have an idea of what we enjoy, and when you enjoy something usually its not something to dread or to avoid like which is what sometimes happens with assigned material because it doesn't appeal to everyone. Personally, I think I did well with making connections to real world stories, and tracking the characters. It was kind of confusing at first, but then I started to really understand each character through experiences, so it was really helpful. But, something I need to work on is time management, because even though it was a 593 page book, I still should have been able to finish with plenty of time left over. Though I finished the book, I had to cram the last 100 pages into just 1 week, where if I had started reading x amount of pages per night, I would have been done and less stressed, so that is something I clearly need to work on. 

Reflecting on Just One Day by Gayle Forman

The book, Just One Day by Gayle Forman,  was not my favorite book.  I thought the plot of the book was very predictable and boring.  I guessed everything that was going to happen.  I also found that the main character, Allyson, extremely winey and annoying.  I was reading the book and I was just watching the girl isolate herself.  I thought of so many solutions for this girl, but she didn't do any of them!  She just pouted and isolated herself.  I could not get involved in the book because I found her so annoying.
  Reading this book was a lot different than reading an assigned book for class.  In class in order to understand the book and to be able to go deeper in class discussion, you have to read and annotate the entire book.  For this book, I didn't annotate it at all I just read it.  It was a pretty transparent book so it wasn't difficult to understand, but I didn't go as deep as I could have.  I did a good job at following Allyson's development and depression in the book.  I noticed how when she was with Willem she was very content and happy, but then when he left she was so sad.  Then throughout the rest of the book she was just trying to regain that happiness she once had by trying to find him.  I didn't do a great job at tracking the theme.  The theme I got from the story was that people make themselves happy, others can't do it for them.  This was a decent theme, but it could have been deeper.
 In the next book I read I will be sure to track the theme better.  I will take better annotation notes , and that will help me understand the book better.

The Hobbit

In the novel, The Hobbit the main character Bilbo Baggins so far seems to be a really soft spoken character. He's the type who likes to stay alone and enjoy the quiet of his own home. This is obvious because when everyone begins to come into his house he has a bit of a freakout.
When they tell Bilbo that he's going to be going on this journey with them he is shocked and very frightened. But as the story begins to progress, so does his personality. He's still a shy type of hobbit, but he has more of an edge to him. If Bilbo was back home, he would have been too afraid to go up to those giants and distract them. Although he was scared while it was happening, he still came up with the courage to face some of his fears. A huge catalyst for his change in personality was in the very beginning when all the dwarfs came into his home expecting him to go with them. Bilbo wasn't even going to go, but then a last minute decision shows that he's going to go through  huge change. Not just with the way he lives and the people he's around, but his life in general; along with his personality.
Also, what I've picked up from reading this book, Bilbo seems like he just wants to be accepted by everyone he's going in this adventure with... Bilbo was just some quiet hobbit who lived in the comfort of his home, never expecting any guests; which he was happy with. But now he's on this crazy adventure that he wouldn't have even wanted to dream of.