Blog #11

     Stormbreaker is the first book in the Alex Rider series by Anothy Horowitz. Fourteen year old Alex Rider is the main character in this book. Alex's parents died when he was very little and since then, he's been living with his Uncle. Since his Uncle is out on business a lot, Alex has a nanny named Jack. Jack is from the United States and if anything were to happen to Alex's uncle, Jack would have to go back to the states from Britian, where they live. So when the police show up at Alex's door one night, saying his Uncle has died in a car crash, Jack will have to return to the States, and Alex will become an orphan. All seems lost until Ms. Jones (the herald of the story)  arrives to tell Alex his Uncle didn't actually die in a car crash, but was a spy for the Agency Ms. Jones works for, and ended up being shot on a mission. Ms. Jones tells Alex that if he comes and works as a spy at this agency, in replacement of his uncle, Jack can stay in Britian and remain Alex's caretaker. Ms. Jones is most definately the herald in this story because she offers Alex the journey into the "special world". Alex is then forced to decide, will he become a spy, or lose Jack.

Blog #10

Harry Potter and the Philospers Stone shows an excellent example of a transfer from an ordinary world to the new world.  Harry Potter always thought he was just an ordinary boy, living with his evil Aunt, Uncle and Cousin, Dudley. His parents died when he was young, and so he had to move into his Aunt's home, and live in the closet under the stairs. At the beginning of the Philospers Stone, Harry lives in a gloomy, dull, ordinary world, with no hopes for the future, because of his relatives, who limit him to everything and anything. When Harry turns the age of twelve, a giant person, Hagrid comes to retrieve him to tell Harry that he's a magical wizard, the best that ever lived. Hagrid tells Harry that his parents were wizards and were really killed by the darkest wizard in the magic world, Voldemort. When Voldemort came to kill Harry and his family, he was the only one to survive Voldemort, making him the most powerful wizard. Hagrid tells Harry he must travel into the magic world to go to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. Hagrid and Harry use the majical portal in a British bar to travel into the majic world to get to Hogwarts.
I chose this video because in order to get to Hogwats, Harry must start in his ordinary world, and run through a portal to get into the magical world, to travwel to Hogwarts.

Blog #9

I have just began a new book called Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka. This book is an interesting read because it shows the story in three seperate points of view, all from main characters. The first perspective is from Celeste, a fourteen year old girl who lives in community where you are married at the age fifteen to a man that has wives already. These girls that are being married at the age of fifteen then become sister wifes to the man the prophet has chosen for them. Any girl that challenges this custom, or thinks "impure" thoughts about not wanting that life are frowned upon. Almost at the age fifteen, Celeste does not agree with the idea of sister wives, and wants to choose her own life. Another side of the story is told by Tavianna. Tavianna is a teen brought into the community by the elders, saved from her terrible life on the street in the village, Springdale. Since Tavianna has not lived in Unity (the community Celeste lives in) for her whole life, she does not follow all of their customs and is a bit of a wild card, a well needed one though in this strict place. The last perspecitve is from Nanette, Celeste's younger sister who is thirteen. Nanette is everything Unity looks for in a young girl; honest, brave, and most imortantly, she agrees with and follows all of the customs in Unity, even the marraige rule. When Nanette finds out about her sister's impure thoughts, she is challenged in making the right desicion of what to do about this. Should she tell the Prophet, or let her sister live her own life. I really don't know what I would do if I had to marry at the age fifteen. I mean, for me, that would be like marrying a man next year about three times my age. Reading this book had been really eye opening for me, because I've heard stories of sister wives before, but I have never heard from points of view that have/are experiencing it. What I am wondering is if Celeste will find a way to esacpe her arranged marriage because hearing from her perspective, she is very much so against the idea. Will this mean Celeste will have to escape Unity, or find a way to convince her parents not to give her away? An even bigger question though, will Celeste be the hero to her story and save herself from marriage, or will she be rescued by something or someone? How do I recognize if she is or isn't? It is hard to tell, considering I just started into this book, but I think Celeste will be the hero of her own story. I think this because Celeste has shown from right off the bat, she does not agree with the culture surronding her. Celeste doesn't seem to shy down from stating her opinion, she openly shared what her community would call "impure" thoughts with her sister about how she disagreed with the idea of sister wives, making her brave. This makes her brave because even thinking thoughts against the culture in Unity is considered impure, and you can be punished. Celeste is different from the other women/girls in her community because she thinks for herself. These are some traits that are valued in a hero. I know that if you feel strongly enough about something, you can put up a good fight about it.

Blog post # 7

SPOILER ALERT

     Lately I have read the Pretty Little Liar series. To sum up the series, they are about four girls who used to be bestfriends. In Grade 8, their other bestfriend, Ali, went missing, and has not been found since. Once the four girls (Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily) lose Ali, they begin to lose touch with one another until they all have new friends and lifes. Now, five years later, each of the four girls begins recieving strange blackmail messages from someone named A. They begin to assume that this mysterious A character could indeed be their old friend Ali who has been missing all these years. I mean, who else would know all of their personal sercrets? Hanna has made a new friend, Mona, over the years, and now they are very close. Hanna and Mona tell eachother everything, even about the blackmailing. No one ever would have suspected Mona to be the blackmailer, but she was. Mona is an example of a Shapeshifter archetype. First off, she plays with the four girls emotion's by blackmailing them, adding a tist to the story. Second, Mona pretends to be close to Hanna She acts like she cares about her, but all the while Mona is using Hanna's sercrets about the girls to send blackmail messages. Mona seems like a great friend at first, but ends up doing horrible things to each of the girls. These traits demonstrate many qualities you can find within The Shapeshifter archetype.
      At the beginning of the book, Unbelivable, Mona acts like a friend, going on shopping trips with Hanna, and giving Hanna a shoulder to cry on. By the end of this book though, Mona admits to being the blackmailer.
     "I know what four did. I know what I saw. And I. Will. Never. Forget. "
Mona's mouth dripped into an eerie smile. "This summer, I found a way to get back at you girls. I found Ali's diary. I knew instantly-and she wrote tons of secrets about you. Really damaging ones, actually. It's like she wanted the diary to fall into enemy hands."
     After reading this quote, we find out Mona has been pretending to be nice all along, when she is truely two faced, just like a shapeshifter.

Blog post # 6

     Classic. What does it mean? Well, when I here the word classic I think of something or someone who has been around for a while, but its traits are so memberable, popular, well known, and timeless they stay with us for a long time. The dictionary defenition of "Classic" is 'of the first or highest quality, class, or rank: a classic piece of work.' For example, the Titanic is considered a Classic film. It is considered a classic film because the story never gets old, no matter how many times you watch it. Most people enjoy this film because it's relatable to stories they've heard from friends or relatives. I think the fact that this movie was based on a catastrophe that happened in our World, really makes people interested. People want to know what seemingly impossible things are like to experience, just like The Titanic. When you ask people about a classic, they usually all have similiar positive opinions to share.


    The book I am currently reading is called Grist by Heather Waldorf. In my opinion, this book will not be remembered as a classic for the future. Usually, classic books draw you in immediately, and make you never want to set them down. In my case, reading Grist, I feel bored and often catch myself daydreaming while reading it. The story line is about the main character, Charlie, and how she's spending her summer. This could be an interesting topic but the author is making all the events come so slowly, that it's easy to loser interest. Mind you, I haven't gotten very far in this book, but so far I'm considering giving it a rest. Second of all, this book seems like countless others I've read before. Classics are very unique and special; They stick with you and many others forever. I don't think that when I'm old and gray, I will remember this book simply because there's nothing special, for me, to remember about it. A classic series I have read though, is The Harry Potter series. For myself and countless others, this is one of my favourite series. I will most definately remember this series when I'm old and gray, and I will always pass along good praise about these books always. Classics are always highly praised and  are passed down from generation to generation. In my case, the Harry Potter series wasn't old enough to be passed down to me from my parents, but I will pass these down to my younger relatives. This series possesses all character traits to be considered a classic.

Blog post # 5

Recently, I've read the Hunger Games series, by Suzanne Collins. The main idea that exsists in these books is that a long time ago, the world used to look like it does today, until a battle broke out. To show that the Government was completely in control, they seperated the land into thirteen districts, and Panem, where the Government, and the wealthy lived. Panem is a place much like today, in spots with no poverty; where as districts one to thirteen our places in the state of poverty, where food, shelter, work, water, and health care are scarce. To prove the Government, known as the Capitol, was in total control they bombed District 13 to show to the other disticts what the Capitol was capable of doing to the citizens if they stepped out of line. To also prove their strength, the Capitol hosts The Hunger Games each year. Basically, the Hunger Games is a tournament with two chosen children from each district, boy and girl, that go in a areana with all the other contestants and fight until death.
The evil power and authority the Capitol shows over their districts reminds me of the stories we here today in the news about third world countries and the unfair Government systems they possess. In the Hunger Games series, the Capitol kills children for entertainment, which can be very similar to unsettling stories we here about in different places around the world. Personally, I think that Canada's Government tries its best to make sure all citizens are safe, educated, fed, and housed. In some places in the world though, this is not the case. If Government is supposed to do all of these things, why are some government systems treating people so unfairly? People should be able to rely on their Government. For example, the Government in Afganistan has proved in the past to be a lot different from our Canadian Government. How do we know this? Well, there must be some differences as to how they are treating their people if Canadian troops have had to go in and take control over the country. So as you can see, the Government in this book isn't too far off from some of the ones we have in our World today. Or, I've just read from Amnesty International about child rights in Somalia, which reminded me of these books too. in the article it says,

"As a child in Somalia, you risk death all the time: you can be killed, recruited and sent to the frontline, punished by al-Shabab because you are caught listening to music or 'wearing the wrong clothes', be forced to fend for yourself because you have lost your parents or even die because you don’t have access to adequate medical care." (http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/children-in-somalia-facing-war-crimes)

This sounds entirely like The Hunger Games series and the world they live in. The world can be a terrible place depending on its rulers, so its are job to strive for a better one.

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Blog # 4 A video that descirbes your main character.

I chose the Phineas and Ferb theme song for my video. I chose this to show the opposites between my video and main character, Char. My main character is always seeming to be unhappy with her life, where as Phineas and Ferb are always very cheery. Char has to choose out of three seemingly boring options to occupy her summer where as Phineas and Ferb are very creative with their summer, make something new each day to enjoy with their friends, and make their summer worthwile.

Blog post # 3

I just started reading a new book, called Grist, by Heather Waldorf. I'm on about the thirtieth page, and yet know alot about my main character, Char. This is the first book I've ever read where any charcter has the same nickname as myself, although Char's full name is Charlena where as mine is Charlotte. I know for a fact, Char is stubborn. At one point in the book, Char is called into her english teacher's, Mr Pollen, to discuss her grades. Char is an amazing writer, but does not reach to achieve what she truley can, which affects her marks. In the text Mr. Pollen is desperately trying to get Char to redo her assignment, because he knows she can do better, but she does not want to do so and over reacts. Referrig to the text on pages eight and nine of my book, it says this.

Mr Pollen thrust the assingment back at me. " I realize that classes are over, but my final grades won't be submitted until next Friday. You have a week to redeem yourself. Just slide the revised assignment through my mail slot at home."

"And what if I don't?'

"You'll get a C-minus. And that, Charles, won't be a mystery, it will be a tradgedy."

"That sir," I shouted, gesturing at my pathetic assignment, " is the best I can do!!"

From what I've learnt so far, sixteen year old Char, lost her mother when she was young, and she lives with her father. Her best friend, has gone to Australia for the summer, her dad will be away for the summer working out of town,so she's left with three options for her summer. Option one would be to go to be a summer camp counseler at a camp that doesn't pay their staff, option two would be to go spend the summer in Toronto with her father's plastic girlfriend, or her last option would be to go spend the summer at her Grandmother's cottage up on Lake Ringrose. None of these options tickle her fancy, so she has not  been the happiest person in the world lately. She is jealous of all the others her age who get to spend their time tanning by the pool.

I think Char will end up deciding on spending her summer with her Gradmother because she did not seem pleased in the slightest to go spend time with her father's girlfriend at all. Char referred to her as Botox Barb, making me think she doesn't have a liking to her. The second option would have been to go to be a summer counseler at a camp. She seemed to hate this idea more because she wouldn't get paid and she does not want to spend her summer babysitting whining children. Which leaves the final option of going to visit her Grandmother. I'm sure she'll be sour at first, because none of these option are how she intened to spend her summer, but once she gets settles at Lake Ringrose, I'm sure she'll enjoy the peace and quiet, and beautiful scenery.  I think this will effect Char because her whole summer (and the whole story) will now be about her going up to her Grandma's into a remote part of Canada and sending two months there. Obviously, the plot would get a little dry if all the story was about was Char visiting her Grandmother. So I think, Char will find something to do, or someone to preoccupy herself with that will cause suspense and drama within the text. From looking at the cover, and reading the back of the book, it seems as if when Char gets to the cottage, she'll go on a out trip. I think this partially because the cover of the book shows Char at the lake looking very nature like, with her hair all over the place, and she looks wild. From my own experience of going on a five day out trip, I know that you begin to look wild after the first two days. From the text on the back of the book, I can also infer from that she may be going on an outrip.

Blog #2 Two concise paragraphs about the book I'm reading

Currently, I am reading Chanda's Wars by Allan Stratton. The main character in my book is Chanda. Chanda is a teenager, raising her two younger siblings in Bonang. Her father died in a mine explosion when she was young, and her mother died from AIDS. We find out that in the past, Chanda's mother was to marry an abusive man her family arranged her to. When her mother refused, her relatives believed she had set a curse over the family, so she moved away from Tiro and to Bonang where she married Chanda's father. When her mother developed AIDS and died, it left Chanda with a hard life, being a mother to her brother and sister, without any support from relatives. Chanda begins having nightmares where she is in Tiro, the main city close to her villiage where her relatives live. In the dreams, her mother's warning her to save her siblings from Maniki, a rebel with a large gang who robs and murders in the territory. The dreams begin to terrorize Chanda so she visits numerous possibilities as to why she's getting these dreams. She decides that the best way to settle her troubles is to visit Tiro, and mend her family feud.

Chanda, her brother, Soly, and their sister, Iris head out on the journey only to find when arriving, her family has set up yet another arranged marriage, for Chanda this time. When Chanda refuses, the family thinks Chanda has set another curse on them, and tries to send them off, back to Bonang. Meanwhile, Madiki and his rebel gang are said to be in the area, so the main road closes down, leaving no way for Chanda and her siblings to get back home. Chanda stays and awaits for the roads to reopen at the General Dealers while Iris and Soly go back to the family compound with their relatives. While they are separated, Mandiki strikes, and kidnaps many of the children in the village, including her brother and sister. It is up to Chanda now, to listen to her mother in her dreams, and go rescue Soly and Iris before it's too late. Her dreams were a warning to her ahead of time, to show her what would take place in the future.

Blog # 1: Why I chose the quote I did.

For my quote I chose "The World is a book, and those that do not travel, have only read the first page." by St. Augustine. After reading numerous quotes, this is the one that spoke to me the most. I think it spoke to me because of how much reading means to me, and the large role reading plays in my life. I consider travelling and reading quite adventurous, and exciting. I believe the two are similar because they can both take you away from where you are, to a different place. If you only read the first page of a book, its like stopping a exciting trip, right when you get to the airport.  But, if you travel on with the book, it can bring you new knowledge, new adventures, you can meet new people, and enjoy new happiness. The more you explore the World, the more it opens up to you, just like books. I picked this quote out of all the others because it represents me the greatest.


Quotation Source: http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/1132