Mr. Smith

Project Response

17, May 2012
Project Response

The title of my independent reading book is First Part Last, written by Angela Johnson. I had chosen to read this book because in seventh grade, I told my librarian I wanted to read a book for teenagers. Mainly a book choice to do with babies, and teenagers being pregnant etc. I then had not yet had the chance to read the book since, so I found it in SHS library and took advantage onto reading this novel.
Various lessons to be learned into your future are exampled in this novel. So far, this book was mainly about a teenage couple at about age 17, they had been together for their high school years; and senior year Nia becomes pregnant. Soon after her birth, Nia and her boyfriend break up. Then, Nia just disappears for a short amount of time, and doesn’t want anything to do with her daughter or her baby daddy. Later Nia comes back into their lives’ and then wants to help her baby daddy out with Feather. Therefore, the father (Nia’s ex-boyfriend) and his family take in Feather (the daughter) for the most part. The protagonist in First Part Last is the father. This is because he took in his daughter when his girlfriend left him for a while. The protagonist doesn’t really have problems with anybody besides his baby momma in the beginning of her pregnancy. The antagonist doesn’t really play a role in this story besides getting pregnant her senior year. In this novel, there is a small issue with the protagonist and antagonist, which would be the couple not getting along in the beginning of Nias pregnancy. The action of sequence of events occurred to cause the conflict when Nia ended up pregnant her senior year. The result is the couple end up back together when Feather is about a year old. I really enjoyed this book, and yes I would definitely refer this to someone my age.
I would definitely recommend this book to some else because, it points out some life like situations. Also, various lessons to be learned into your future are exampled in this novel. So far, this book was mainly about a teenage couple at about age 17, they had been together for their high school years; and senior year Nia becomes pregnant. Soon after her birth, Nia and her boyfriend break up. Then, Nia just disappears for a short amount of time, and doesn’t want anything to do with her daughter or her baby daddy. Later Nia comes back into their lives’ and then wants to help her baby daddy out with Feather.
The major themes in First Part Last are choices, and consequences. These themes are revealed by Angela Johnson talking about teen pregnancy is not always a good thing at such a young age. Choices, and consequences are also developed by teens thinking teen pregnancy is such a “fun” thing to experience. Soon after, they realize that it was harder than they thought, and reality finally hit them hard.

Independent Reading Project Response

The title of my independent reading book is SOLD. The author of my independent book is Patricia McCormick. This book is about a thirteen year old girl who has a stepfather that sold her into being a sex slave but she thought that she was going to be a maid in the city. Her owners name is Mumtaz and she tells the girls that she has a debt to pay off but Mumtaz just uses them until they get really sick. Lakshmi which is the thirteen year old girl , met a white American who said that he was going to save her and bring her to a good place. At the end she runs up to him and say my name is lakshmi , I am from Nepal and I am fourteen years old. You could either think that she really is rescued or she got sold into being a sex slave again.
The main character in this 13 year old girl named Lakshmi. The antagonist is Mumtaz. The problem with Mumtaz and Lakshmi is that Mumtaz is making her have sex for money. The result is that Lakshmi sold her self to someone thinking that she was going to be free.
I chose this book because of the cover , it had a picture of a little girl so it seemed interesting and because my cousin read this book and said she loved it and said that i should read it. One theme this book has is love because Lakshmi and her mother have such a strong bond. There like bestfriends. The other theme is betrayal because Lakshmi was betrayed by her step father and her “aunt” .
My initial reaction to the text was that i was surprised and i really liked it. I was surprised because i did not think that half of the stuff that happen in the book was going to happen and i really liked it because i got to learn what really happens in some countries. This book was by far the best book i have ever reed in my life because i actually enjoyed it and it was really interesting. I would definitely recommend this book to someone else because they would love it just like i did.

The Title of my independent reading book is The Beast The author of my independent reading book is Walter Dean Myers The reason is choose this book was because I saw the cover and it interested me a lot and the summary made me want to read the book because just what he had to go thru made me want it more.
My initial reaction to the text was good I like how well written the book was and how the author had made the settings and the texture of it. I was also surprised because I thought it was going to be a harder way to be written.

The reason why I feel this way is because the plot of the book I thought it was going to be written a wrong way. This book compares to the others that I have read because this book speaks about stuff that happens in the daily basis not like most of the ones ive written. The reason I choose this book was because I like the way it was written and the summary about the book

The theme of the text is well written major theme of the book takes place in Harlem, New York. They are reveled really by what chapter you are on and depending on what the scene is. The theme to me is new because not many writers would describe the theme like Walter Dean Myers did. The theme is socially motivated the reason why is because what they went thru people go thru on a daily basis. My initial reaction to the text is I like it because the way of tone the story was written intrigues the reader and helps them understand better. Specifically feel this way because it helped me understand the book a lot better and kept me interested in a lot more
This book compares to no other book that ive written because I can honestly say that is probably the best book ive read. Yes I would recommend this book to someone else because it is a well-written text and a lot of readers would be very intrigued in reading it and a lot of people could relate to it also

The title of my book is called “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl”. My book is about a young girl who was in hiding with her family as well as others because they were Jewish and the Jewish people were being discriminated by the Germans during World War II. Throughout this book Anne Frank shares her experience being in hiding and having to cope with all the people she were in hiding with including her family. “Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.”

The main character of my book is Anne Frank. She’s an average teenage girl who goes through the same type of things that any other ordinary teenage girl goes through. In her diary she writes about many things including her friendships with other girls, her crushes on boys, and her academic performance at school. She and her sister Margot didn’t receive the same education that an average German student would receive because they were Jewish. Both her and her sister went to a totally different school from everyone else. I guess I would have to say that the antagonist of this story would have to be the Germans because they were the ones who caused the Franks to live the way they were living as well as other families too like the Van Daans. The Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940 which is what forced the Franks to move out and move into a small secret annex above Otto Frank’s office where they had packed many foods and supplies to survive. Anne often wrote about her feelings of isolation and her loneliness, and she also mentions how she really don’t get along with anyone from her family but her father. Her father means everything in the world to her, they have a type of connection that she doesn’t have with anyone else. Anne doesn’t get along with her mother at all and her mother hates the fact that they never see eye to eye. “Anne thinks that her sister, Margot, is smart, pretty, and agreeable, but she does not feel close to her and does not write much about her. Anne eventually develops a close friendship with Peter van Daan, the teenage boy in the annex. Mr. Frank does not approve, however, and the intensity of Anne’s infatuation begins to lessen. During the two years recorded in her diary, Anne deals with confinement and deprivation, as well as the complicated and difficult issues of growing up in the brutal circumstances of the Holocaust. Anne’s diary, the observations of an imaginative, friendly, sometimes petty, and rather normal teenage girl, comes to an abrupt and silent end.”

“Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annex” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.”

I agree with the critics review towards this book, because it basically introduce and explains everything that happens in the story. However I must admit that if I was to do an independent reading project again I think I would have chosen a different book. I didn’t really enjoy the book because I feel like i didn’t really get what I wanted to get out of this book. It mostly talked about her and her feelings but I was expecting the book to be about her talking about how her and her family were being mistreated and how the Germans were mistreating all of the Jewish people during World War II. Sure she mentions what she have seen a few times and what the Germans were doing to the Jewish people but she didn’t get into too much details like I’ve read in my past readings of books about the Holocaust. Don’t get me wrong the book was good but I just expected something different from it. When I read books about the holocaust I like reading books that explains in details how much pain and suffering that they had to go through so that I can feel what the author feels. Although I don’t think that many people (maybe a few) will be able to connect with her and how she felt throughout the book.

If you was to ask me if I recommend this book to future readers I would say “Yes I do recommend readers to read this book.” However I wouldn’t recommend it to all readers, I would probably recommend teenage girls specifically to read this book because they are the most people who would be able to connect with this book. I mean it is about a teenage girl and her experience during the holocaust and her feelings towards many things. I didn’t get what I thought I was going to get out of this book but I did get something out of this book. This isn’t the only book about Anne Frank, there are many others so maybe if I read other books about her in the future, maybe just maybe I will find what I have been looking for.

References: 1. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/annefrank/summary.html

2. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48855.The_Diary_of_a_Young_Girl

The main character is Henry a young teenager recovering from a broken knee observing a “crazy home” across from his house. Henry works at a grocery store to support his mom and becomes friends with an old man who happens to be a Holocaust survivor and part of the “crazy home” that Henry’s observing. The protagonist in this book would have to be Henry’s boss Mr. Hairston that is rude and twofaced. He tells Henry to break a portrait his friend makes in order for Henry to keep his job. Now Henry has to make a decision that will affect his life forever. The theme of the book is about developing friendships. Henry develops a good friendship with an old man who is his neighbor. It’s a traditional theme and I really enjoyed reading it after a few pages.

The reason I chose this book was because I read the summary on the back of the novel and it had mentioned the Holocaust, which is the main focus of this project. I also chose this book because it was about 100 pages long. And also the text was easy to read so I thought it would be the best book in my favor. In the bingeing of the book I didn’t find it interesting but after I kept reading, I found the book to be a little better than I thought. It was a really interesting book to read and I would recommend this book to everyone. It was a short-paged book and it was easy to read and it also peaked my interest so I think it would do the same for others.