This page contains important information for Bridge Academy students about two major projects: Portfolio & Independent Reading.
1. Bridge Academy – Portfolio Project
Portfolio Project Overview: Throughout the semester each student will be required to compose a series of written responses to a selection of writing prompts that are intended to develop students’ writing skills, while also developing students’ abilities to think creatively and analytically about a variety of subjects.
As students progress through the five stages of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) they will not only be able to develop and sharpen their writing and language skills, but also demonstrate and reflect on the fruits of their labors during mid-year and end-of-year portfolio presentations to faculty.
Full Project Details: SHS – Bridge Academy – Portfolio Project Details
Portfolio Project Rubric: SHS – Bridge Academy – Portfolio Project – Rubric
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Portfolio Prompts Available for Download:
First Semester
- Prompt – 01 – The Value of Education
- Prompt – 02 – Theme Song
- Prompt – 03 – Program Name
- Prompt – 04 – Local News
- Prompt – 05 – International News
- Prompt – 06 – Academic Achievement Improvement Plan [Template & Prompt]
- Prompt – 07 – Weaponized Animals
Second Semester
- Stay Tuned!
- more to come…
2. Bridge Academy – Independent Reading Project
Independent Reading Project Prompt Selections: The following components are required to be completed as part of students’ independent reading projects:
- Complete Book Selection
- Sticky Note Annotations with Page Number Every Five Pages
- Final Project Essay
Independent Reading Project Overview: Each semester students will be required to select and read a literary work of their choice, in an effort to prepare them to develop a literary criticism of their chosen work. In doing so, students will not only explore the merits of their selected work, but ultimately position themselves to provide both critical and analytical analysis of their chosen novel against the criticisms and reviews of experts in the field.
Project Requirements & Rubric: Independent Reading Project
Mr. Smith's English Class 
Edgar Almonte
English ½
Mr. Smith
May 22, 2014
Pineapple Express project response
The title of the movie I picked is “ Pineapple Express” directed by David Gordon Green. I chose this movie because it’s a very funny and interesting movie to watch. When I first saw Pineapple express I would tend to catch myself asking what’s coming next, it’s a real thrill to watch. Pineapple Express is easily one of my top favorite movies to watch, and highly recommended. The main character Dale Denton happens to witness a murder while on his service duty at his client Ted Jones. Ted Jones is a big time drug dealer and now wants dale dead. As dale and his drug dealer now turned friend Saul are running away they have a crazy adventure that ends up with a lot of people dead and a lot of marijuana burned.
In the movie Pineapple express Seth Rogen plays the Protagonist, Seth witnesses a murder while at Gary Cole (Ted Jones) house. Ted Jones is a King pin marijuana dealer, after witnessing the murder Dale Denton Flees the scene scared out of his mind he throws the joint out the window leaving evidence. Ted Jones finds the half joint and recognizes the smell of it because he is the only drug dealer growing that kind of marijuana. He contacts the only person that he has sold that kind marijuana to, after hours trying to reach him they go to his house just to find out that both dale and red have fled just minutes before.
When I first saw this movie I couldn’t stop laughing, It had me hanging off my seat wondering what’s next. Recommend this to everyone highly. This movie goes hand in hand with its theme, compared to other stoner movie directors tend to over exaggeration the topic but I feel like everything is on point down to the laughs.
Independent Reading Project Response
My independent reading book it titled My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews, the book is set in the 60’s through the 80’s in a fictitious location. The protagonist and the point of view the entire book is written in is Audrina Adare, she explains her everyday life of waking up and being unaware of her age and of the date. Throughout the book it becomes clear to the reader that Audrinas family is mostly at fault for her confusion because everyday they tell her it’s a different month and that she is seven, although she feels she is older. Nine years before Audrina was born her elder sister (first names Audrina) was raped and killed in the woods near her home; Audrina is reminded everyday by her attention seeking cousin that she is not and never will be as beautiful and perfect as the First and Best Audrina. “There was a war going on in our house, a silent war that sounded no guns, and the bodies that fell were only wishes that died and the bullets were only words and the blood that spilled was always called pride.” The main character is a little self-explanatory, her name is Audrina, Audrina lives in the shadow of her older sister first named Audrina who was raped and killed in the woods the day of her birthday. Audrina is reminded everyday by her older cousin, Vera, that she will never be as beautiful, smart, and talented as the First Audrina; also demeaning Audrina because of her lack of common sense and forgetfulness of her own age and the date every morning. Vera also taunts Audrina by attempting to steal attention from Damian; she purposely breaks bones and lies compulsively for his attention. Audrina and Vera live with Audrinas mother, Lucietta, and father, Damian, and Audrinas mothers’ sister, Ellsbeth, who is Vera’s mother. Audrina deals with the confusion and low self-esteem of being the second Audrina. Damian goes to work everyday, while Vera goes to school, so Audrina spends everyday with her mother and aunt because they tell her everyday that she is too young for school even though for years they have told her she is six or seven. Some nights, Audrinas father makes her sit in a rocking chair placed in the First Audrinas untouched bedroom, practically a shrine. Damian tells her to rock continuously in the chair and tries to feel the First Audrinas spirit, so that she may develop the same talents she had. Usually after that when Audrina falls asleep, she has nightmares and night terrors of the First Audrinas’ rape, making Audrina petrified of men. One day, a boy around Audrinas age named Arden and his paraplegic mother, Billie, move into a house behind the woods where the First Audrina died. Audrina visits them nearly everyday, becoming good friends with Arden and his mother; Damian doesn’t like that Audrina goes through the woods but eventually consents to her visits. Around this time Lucietta becomes pregnant, and goes into premature labor on Audrinas’ ninth birthday. Lucietta dies in childbirth after have her mentally challenged daughter Damian names Sylvia. Audrina looks over her Sylvia and tries to be as motherly as possible towards her while taking piano classes to keep Luciettas memory alive. Eventually her piano teacher persuades Damian to let Audrina go to school and Ellsbeth takes care of Sylvia while Audrina is away. She soon discovers that Vera is having an affair with her piano teacher – not the first of her many affairs – and Vera becomes pregnant but has a miscarriage after fighting with Audrina. The next day, Vera runs away with the Piano teacher named Lamar; she leaves a note for Audrina explaining that they were paternal half-sisters. Damian had been with Ellsbeth before meeting her younger sister Lucietta, he made it so that legally and even to Audrina that he was only Veras’ uncle although he does not deny being her father after Audrina discovers the note. She also discovers that Damian and Ellsbeth have become lovers once again, although they have a fight about Ellsbeth going to help Vera, due to the suicide of Lamar, and Damian doesn’t want her to. The next morning, she is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Time passes and Audrina turns eighteen, she instantly marries Arden to get away from her controlling father, taking Sylvia with her. After the unpleasant honeymoon they return home to find that Damian and Bille are lovers, soon after Vera arrives and Ellsbeth persuades Damian to let her stay. Audrina fears that Damian will hurt her, and evidently – like Ellsebeth – she is found of the bottom of the same stairs, dead. Audrina suspects that Sylvia is the cause of the deaths but protects her from accusation. Adding to Audrinas stress it is revealed that Arden is having an affair with Vera, she pays no mind to it, until the night she finally became comfortable with her sexuality and felt safe with Arden. That night when she went to check on Sylvia she ended up some how in the First Audrinas room and decided to sit in the rocking chair for the first time in many years. She has a vision of the First Audrinas rape and confusingly sees Arden in the woods. Audrina is distraught while walking back to her room and is shoved down the stairs, unable to see the assailant in the dark. She falls into a coma. Right before awakening from her coma, she can hear Vera and Arden talking in her hospital room, Vera attempts to make Arden pull the plug on Audrina, and he contemplates it. When she awakes, she vows to find out all the secrets of the First and Best Audrina.
When Audrina returns home from the hospital she is demand the Vera leaves and that her father tells her the whole and honest truth about the First Audrina. Damian cracks, and explains how the First and Best Audrina never existed; the child-sized grave they would visit with a headstone reading her name was a fraud and the coffin has been empty. The real First and Best Audrina was the “second” Audrina after she herself was brutally raped in the woods on her ninth birthday, she became so traumatized and obsessed with her impurity that she attempted to kill herself. Trying to help her Damian did electro-shock therapy to make her forget it ever happened, and then used hypnosis to make her believe she was a new pure daughter, named after her older, dead sister. Her family would purposely tell her the wrong age and date to keep her time confused. As the memories come flooding back to Audrina she recalls a vision dream of being in the woods on her ninth birthday and seeing Arden run away, revealing that they had known each other longer than she thought and that he knew the truth for year years and never told her. Vera appears in the room and causes Audrina to remember Vera telling her all those years ago about the path she took in the woods, and that it must have been her who told the boys where she was. Audrina accuses her due to her jealousy of Damian loving her more than Vera; Vera confessed and Damian angrily rushes at her. As she turns to run she slips down the stairs, falling to her death just as her mother, and Billie had – later revealed that Vera had been the one who pushed Ellsbeth, Billie, and Audrina. Audrina quickly goes to the cemetery with her fake sisters grave, and starts to dig it up to prove to herself who she really is. Arden shows up and helps her dig up the coffin, when it’s opened and revealed empty all the pieces connect. She decides to take Sylvia and leave Arden and Damian and her home forever, Sylvia won’t allow her however and tells her that they must stay home. Evidently, she stays, not the happiest ending but its content.
The major themes of My Sweet Audrina are mostly mental illness such as PTSD, and emotions that control the characters like jealousy, anger, and hatred. They are revealed with each characters personality and traits, Audrina suffers from PTSD that was influenced with hypnosis and electroshock therapy. I guess the theme could be classified as traditional, considering that it was written in the 60’s. The theme is mostly psychological, due to the entire book being made up of plot twit and mind tricks.
My intial reaction to the text that it was really vague and somewhat confusing but it was able to grab my attention immediately. I’d recommend this book to someone capable of keeping up with plot twists and important hidden details.
Shauna Gauthier
5/13/14
Independent Reading Project
The book that I chose for the independent reading project is called “A Child Called It” written by Dave Pelzer. The book is a nonfiction story about a young boy that is horribly abused and tortured by his mother. Every time the boys brothers and father isn’t around he is forced to be burnt, to eat a dirty diaper, be locked into a bathroom with cleaning products until his lungs burn, etc. The only time the boy isn’t being hurt or tortured is when they are in public or in front of the rest of the family. There has been no resolution to the abuse in the story. I chose this book because of the cover and a recommendation by my sister. My initial reaction to the text was shocked and angry that somebody especially a mother could do that to her own child. Even though I felt that way about the book I was very intrigued to read on and see what else this boy had gone through. I felt this way because of the way he described the beatings and how nobody questioned his starvation, bruises, burns and I was looking forward to finding out if he got out of that bad environment or not.
The theme of my book is Man vs Man and perseverance. They are developed by the events that occurred. For example Davids mother abuses him every chance she gets. He gets tortured daily and has nobody to save him from his mother. The theme is extremely traditional and psychological. All of these events mess with his head and there is definitely some psychological stuff that causes his mother to do these things.
Anthony Feliz
Mr. Smith
English
4/8/14
Independent Reading Project
The title of my independent reading book is The House of the Scorpion, and
the author is Nancy Farmer. I chose this book because I started to read it a number of years ago and didn’t finish so I took the opportunity to finish it. My reaction initially when I read this book is generally one of surprise, because this book takes so many left turns you wont know what’s going to happen until it does. This book is just one giant plot twist in a novel that you wont see coming. The protagonist of this story is Matteo Alacran a clone of a powerful drug lord. The antagonist of this story just so happens to be the man who gave him life El Patron. Without the antagonist there would of never been Matteo Alacran because Matteo is a clone of El Patron. El Patron is dying and needs a new heart that is his blood type and Matteo being a clone of him he’s a perfect match. El Patron being almost 142 years old and his organs are failing so he makes clones to use their organs. El Patrons’ goons capture young Matteo but he ends up getting away with some help.
Andy from goodreads.com says that it is a young adult book about every social policy and –ism you can think of — drugs, slavery, classism, cloning, and socialism. He also said he read all 400 something pages in one day and it is a very unique story and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I like this review because it’s accurate and highlights some qualities of the story I really liked about it. This reviewer also mentioned that the way Nancy Farmer wrote the story he didn’t enjoy it but I never really noticed. Jaime from goodreads.com says The House of the Scorpion is one of his favorite books. He goes on to say it’s set in the near future in a world of depravity and corruption. He also adds all the characters are realistic and believable. He also says Matt’s slow coming-of-age is both languorous and tense, as he learns how to be who he is: first, a favored clone in the household of El Patron and later, a full-fledged human being. Just like the last review I agree with this critique. He is very to the point and knows exactly what he likes about the story and why. I liked how he added the part about young matt’s change from a clone to a human being because it is a very crucial point of the story.
I’ve read a lot of works of literature and I could say that this is one of my personal favorites. I would recommend this to someone if there were looking for a good science fiction book that has a lot action. I think that if someone wanted a fast pace book that is full of futuristic things then this would be the book for them!
Tiesha Palacios
Mr. Smith
English 3-4
8 May 2014
The title of my book is “This is Not a Test”. The author is Courtney Summers. My book is about six kids and their struggle to survive in a world introduced to zombies, and for one particular character, the struggle to want to stay alive. The main character, Sloane, in the very beginning, did not want to live. She was dealing with problems at home, and she did believe life was worth living. And then the zombie apocalypse occurs. Because Sloane meets up with five other high school kids, she tries to want to stay alive. OF course with survivors, a sort of government was set up. There was a leader, and followers. But with everyone trying to lead to stay alive, tensions rise, and trust is not even on the table. The kids are trying to survive against zombies, and themselves.
The cover and the title of the book intrigued me, which is why I chose it. There is a little “Blood spatter” on the cover and a girl, with her head thrown back and her hair covering her face. I think the theme of the book is Survival. Man versus nature but also Man versus man. Although it wasn’t made known what caused the zombies, it is man vs nature because it was worldwide, and it was their world now. The theme is just a little traditional, because a good percentage of books have Man vs Nature and Man vs Man, the way it was bought upon in this book is wholeheartedly original. It is just a tad psychological. My initial reaction was uncertainty, because I did like the book, but I felt it a little too melancholy for my tastes. I felt it was only that way because of the point of view, which was the view of the main character, Sloane. This book is sadder than books I have read before, and lacks a lot in romance. I would recommend this to others though, because even though I didn’t love it, it is without a doubt a good book.
The amazing spider man is about a young boy peter parker who lives in New York and lives with his grandparents. Peters father and mother both died in an airplane crash when he was a little boy. Years later teenaged Peter is one of the smartest kids in Manhattan and he goes to midtown science high school. Peters father Richard parker has been studying/working on secret documents for Oscorp. Peter isn’t really the tough guy type of person; he is a nerd, quite and always lonely. Later during the school year peter parker falls in love with one of his classmate Gwen Stacy. She is also a pretty smart gal. Peter finds a bag of his father Richard parker in the basement; peter finds a picture of his father and Dr. curt Connors Curt is a scientist working on lizard DNA.
Peter after sneaks in the building Oscorp were later he sneaks into a tour group. After a little while Peter sneaks out of the tour group to look around and goes to this lab and gets bit by a genetically modified spider. This gives him super powers that he uses to fight crime.
The theme of the amazing Spiderman is responsibility. The theme revealed its self when Peters Grandfather Ben Parker gets shot and his grandfather tells him before dying with great power comes great responsibility. Then after a little while Peter discovers what his grandfather was talking about. The theme is traditional because it’s not the first Spiderman movie to deal with this theme.
I went to go see this movie because I liked the Spiderman that came out a few years ago and so I gave this one a try and I let the movie theaters happy and satisfied. I was disappointed at the fact that this Peter Parker was a little bit skinnier didn’t have enough action like the 2002 Spiderman. Growing up watching the other Spiderman and watching a the new one that came out it felt weird on how much everything change including the graphics. I recommend this movie to everybody that likes Spiderman because they really stick to comic books.
Nicole Abreu
Mr. Smith
English 3-4
7 May 2014
Independent Reading Response
Laurie Halse Anderson calls the title to the book I am writing about Speak. This booked is based of real teen life issues that teenagers go through on a daily basis. The main character of this book is called Melinda Sordino. Melinda is an innocent young girl going into her first year if high school. Of course she is scared and nervous, but Melinda has always been able to fit in since middle school.
Melinda has always been popular that is why over the summer Melinda was invited to a senior high school party. Melinda was honored to have the privilege to go to a high school party where all the cute guys were. What Melinda didn’t know is was she way in over her head before she thought about drinking. Melinda has picked poor choices in her life starting off with that party. Now she regrets all that has happened and all he has done to her.
The reason being that I chose this book was because the cover really got my attention. I don’t judge a book by its cover but this book was one of the best. This book sends out a really good message to young teenagers especially young girls. The characters especially revel themselves as you read more and more into the story. Melinda the main character starts off weak and towards the end she is strong.
Melinda was the victim in this story and no one even cared. That is why I really enjoyed how the text of this book was written and how the story was told in order. This book is a great book to recommend to people that also enjoy reading books about reality and serious real life situations. It shows people who have struggled that there’s no giving up and the right thing to do is to speak up. It really teaches the readers a valuable life lesson.
Lizmarry Baez
English ¾
Mr. Smith
8 May 2014
Independent Reading Project Response
The title of my independent reading book is The Best Night of your (Pathetic) Life. The author of my independent reading book is Tara Altebrando. This book is about a group of high school students that are seniors and are preparing a scavenger hunt. The main character doesn’t really like Jake Barbone because she says that he stole her spot at Georgetown. She really wants to win the scavenger hunt because she doesn’t want to lose something else against Jake Barbone. The whole book is based on the scavenger hunt,
The main character of this book is Mary. The antagonists in this book would be Jake Barbone because Mary the main character has problems with him, she says that he stole her spot at Georgetown. Jake Barbone plays the role of being the antagonist and Mary doesn’t like him at all, she hates him. The conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist is that she hates him because he stole her spot at Georgetown. They organized a scavenger hunt for the senior class and they had to do a lot of things and they had to complete a lot of acts by the end of the night, everybody was rushing to the finish line. The outcome of the scavenger hunt was a lot of drama, infighting, shifting alliances, crushes. It was a really wild night.
The reason why I chose this book was because the title of the book and also because of the cover of the book. As soon as I saw this I loved the cover and I said to myself that I had to read it. The theme for my independent reading book would be to know how to deal with things. I chose this as my theme because Mary learns how to deal with things and also other characters do too. The theme is revealed when she gets mad at Jake because he stole her spot at Georgetown and they all decided to do a scavenger hunt. The theme is familiar because I have read some other books just like that. The theme is entertaining because they have fun while they are doing this.
My initial reaction to this book was that I liked it, I liked this book because it’s about teenagers mostly all the time you can relate to books that are about teenagers if you are a teenager. This book compares to another book that I read which was Dear Life, You Suck because the books have like the same type of writing. I really liked both books. I would totally recommend this book because this book was really fun to read and I’m sure that a lot of teenagers are going to agree with me. I really liked both books. I think both books are good books that teenagers can easily relate too. I recommend for anybody to read this book not only teenagers. I love this book The Best Night of your Pathetic Life.
Lala Hunt
Mr. Smith
IRP
February 11, 2014
IRP Response
The name of my independent reading book is Like Water for Chocolate. The author of my independent reading book is Laura Esquirel. I choose this because the way the mother of the main character is. She is strict and treats all her daughters with guidance in life so they don’t make the same mistakes she did in her younger life.
My likes about the book is that the youngest daughter of six girls gets her mothers worst treatment on life, its only because she is the youngest and wants her to be better then all her other daughters because they have mad mistakes in the past. My dislikes on the book was that the mother wouldn’t let the youngest daughter marry the love of her life but instead had him marry one of her other daughters. I feel like the daughter should be able to marry the guy if they love each other and he is a good guy and which he is deeply in love with the youngest daughter Tita.
This book compared to others is not my top choice but it would be in the catorgy in which I would recommend someone else to read, because it can show guidance and explain why parents can be hard on there children and push kids to do the right things in life.
The main character is Tita and she is really against her mother because she wont let her marry the man she loves but lets her sister marry him. In the end the mother opens up and allows her to marry him because Tita has proven that she is smart enough to make her own decisions in life.
Nicole Abreu
Mr. Smith
English 3-4
February 14,2014
Sparks
Book Response
The title of my book is called Sparks by S.J Adams and the book is about a teen love story. A young girl falls in love with one of her best friends. She is afraid to open up and tell people and her best friend as well because there is one problem her best friend is a female as well. The main character in this story is Debbie Woodlawn. Debbie has issues with her best friends boyfriend Norman. The issue between Debbie and Norman is Debbie highly dislikes him because he has taken away her best friend and her future girlfriend in her mind from her.
Norman on the other hand has no idea that Debbie secretly hates him for ruining her love life. The actions and sequence of events that have occurred to cause this conflict is ever since Norman and Lisa started going out Lisa hasn’t been hanging out with Debbie. The result to this problem is that Lisa knew all along, she knew since the seventh grade that Debbie was interested in girls. She just didn’t open up to Debbie and ask her because she didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
I chose this book because of the cover, it really stood out to me and it seemed really interesting. The most interesting part is the cover is very creative with the Buddha on the cover. The major theme of this book is don’t stress yourself out over the little things in life. Value yourself and put yourself before you put others that don’t care about you before yourself. This theme is reveled and developed because Debbie thinks that she might just not live if Lisa doesn’t love her back. She would do anything to be with Lisa, but Lisa wouldn’t do the same she is too caught up on her boyfriend Norman. Debbie realizes at the end that it isn’t worth it and she wasn’t worth it.
The theme of this book is quit traditional and is socially motivated because Debbie has always only had Lisa in her life she needed to make new friends to lose that attachment towards her. The text to this book I really enjoy because I can relate so much more to it and understand it better because I am a teenager. I would recommend this book to someone because If you like reading about an actual teens life then this is the perfect book for you.
Lizmarry Baez
Mr. Smith
English ¾
12 February 2014
Independent Reading Project Response
The title of my independent reading book is Dear Life, You Suck. The author of my independent reading is Scott Blagden. Dear Life, You Suck is about an orphan teenager that thinks that his life sucks because he lives at an orphanage that is for all boys and it is own by nuns. His parents left him because they were druggies. Cricket is the oldest boy at the place, he is 17 years old a couple of months away from being 18. When he turns 18 he is going to be an adult and he can get out the orphanage. He thinks his life sucks but then when he meets Wynona everything changes. He now doesn’t think that his life sucks that much. He falls in love with Wynona.
The main character of this book is Cricket. The antagonist in this story for me it is the past of cricket. The role that the antagonist plays in this book is that cricket thinks his life sucks because of his past. I chose his past being the antagonist because his always talking about how his life sucks because of what his been through. The conflict that cricket has is that he thinks his life sucks completely. He might think it does because he’s an orphan. What caused this problem was either one of two, his parents died or abandoned him. Cricket is and orphan and his life sucks because of that. The resolution of this conflict is that he met a girl and he fell in love with her and made him realize that life actually doesn’t suck that much. When you think your life sucks something might happen and would make you feel otherwise like what happen to cricket, he said his life sucked but than when he meet Wynona his thoughts about life changed.
The reason I chose this book was because the title of the book made the book interesting. The theme of this book was to think about somebody else before you think your life sucks. They are revealed by Crickets life, he had a hard life to deal with and I think people should think about others before they say their life sucks. I think that this theme is original because I don’t know a lot of books that talk about what this book talked about. The theme could either be religious or socially-motivated because they are in an orphanage where that is religious. I think this was on purpose because the author knew what he was going to write about.
The initial to this book is that I really did like it. I feel this way because this book is about a teenager life and I’m a teenager and I like reading books about teenagers because mostly all the time you can relate to the book. This book doesn’t compare to any of the other books I read because I actually enjoyed reading this book. I liked the text of the book and I also like the content of the book. I would definitely recommend this book because it is very interesting and a lot of teenagers say that their life sucks and I would like them to read this book and think about other people that really do have a life that sucks.
Jose Whitcomb
Mr. Smith
English 1-2
December 11, 2013
Independent Reading Project Response
The book Dear Life, You Suck by Scott Blagden is about a 17 year old boy who was taken in by nuns at an orphanage after he was taken away from his drug addict, murderous parents. Throughout the book he has trouble figuring out who he is and how he sees life. He deals with the troubles of life by getting high, fighting and a bit of cynicism.
The story follows the life of Cricket Cherpin who is the eldest in the orphanage he lives in. One of his duties aside from the normal orphanage chores is defending the younger ones. They all attend the same school where the bully, Buster, terrorizes the young. The antagonist plays a huge role in this story. Because of him terrorizing the children Cricket got into a fight with him on school ground causing Cricket to get suspended which then turned for the better in Cricket’s case. If that fight hadn’t happened he would not have dated the girl of his dreams or realized how much people actually care about him.
The reason I chose this book was because of the cover. The title “Dear Life, You Suck” really caught my attention. So I read the summary on the inside of the cover and that dragged my in even more. The major theme of the story is growing up mentally. Cricket starts out as a cynical person hating everyone and thinking adults are all the same and hate him. I’ve never seen this theme in any other novel so I would say it’s pretty original, to me anyway. I think the theme is psychological. It makes you think about life and how messed up it really is.
When I started reading the book I was blown away at the creativity and humor that the main character had. The type of things he says and the way he mixes curse words is very frowned upon and would probably get someone suspended if they said that in real life. I’ve never read a book like this before, probably because I don’t read that much but compared to the ones I’ve read this is my all time favorite. I highly recommend this book if you have a cynical personality this is right down your alley.
Maireni Silva
Mr. Smith
English ¾
26 April 2013
Independent Reading Project Response
The title of my independent reading book is Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Generally my book is about Ishmael telling the story in his point of view of his trip with Captain Ahab to capture the big white whale known as Moby Dick.
The main character in my book is Captain Ahab. The antagonist in this novel is Moby-Dick himself. The protagonist in this book is Captain Ahab. All throughout the story we learn about Captain Ahab’s obsession with finding Moby-Dick, and finally getting revenge on the whale. The role that the antagonist plays in the story is that he is the white whale that captain Ahab is obsessed with and wont rest until he is captured. The problem between the antagonist and the protagonist is that the antagonist Moby-dick, managed to bit Ahab’s leg off, leaving captain Ahab with one leg and blaming Moby dick for everything bad that has ever happened to him. The sequence of events that occurred to cause this conflict was that Moby-Dick destroyed Ahab’s boat and then bit off captain Ahab’s leg. The outcome of the story is that Ahab makes his last attempt to kill Moby Dick when he aims the harpoon shoots it, and hits the whale, next thing you know Captain Ahab is being dragged down under water by the whale, also sinking the ship and everyone in it.
I did not choose this book. It was handed to me as a class assignment. In the novel there are two major themes. Man VS Nature and Man VS Himself. The themes are both revealed when Captain Ahab struggles with himself and his crazy obsession with Moby Dick. The story of Moby Dick is seen through the eyes of Ishmael. The classic story mainly revolves around Captain Ahab and his obsession with the white whale. Ahab was so crazy about killing this whale that he was prepared to do anything and sacrifice it all just to see that whale die. The antagonist in this novel is Moby-Dick himself. The protagonist in this book is Captain Ahab. All throughout the story we learn about Captain Ahab’s obsession with finding Moby-Dick, and finally getting revenge on the whale. I think that the theme is new and original just because not every book you read has a theme of an obsession with a whale. I think that the only thing that’s actually interesting in this story is the theme.
My initial reaction to the text was that I didn’t really like it. I really wasn’t very interested in reading it. I was very disappointed on how boring the book turned out to be. This book by far has to be the worst book that I have ever read. I feel this way because im not to fond of being out in the sea or even fishing for things that can eat me. This book does not compare to other books that I would normally read because im more interested in mysterious and mischief books then books about whales. I would recommend this book to someone that enjoys being out in the sea or someone that is interested in whales and whaling.
Jenny Gjinaj
Mr.Smith
English 4
4 April 2013
Independent Reading Project
The title of my independent reading book is Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Moby dick is told from Ishmael’s point of view. Ishmael is a simple sailor that just wants to go out on an adventure. The main character is captain Ahab. Captain Ahab has an issue with Moby Dick because Moby Dick ate off Captain Ahab’s leg. The issue is Captain Ahab has been trying to catch Moby dick for a long time but hasn’t. The setting of the book mostly takes place on the ships at sea. Moby Dick plays the role of a white whale in the story. In the end of the book Moby Dick is finally caught.
I did not choose to read this book. It was a class assignment. I initially thought the book was very boring. I do not find the sea very interesting. Although the book wasn’t a bad book, the author was very detailed about the whales and the setting. It’s a pretty cool book if you’re interested about whales, or going for something you desire. There are two main themes of the book. One is man vs. self and the other is man vs. nature. Jason’s review of Moby Dick found on Goodreads.com explains excitedly about how he loved the book. Jason explains how the writer did such a good job explaining and comparing every aspect of the whale. He talks about how he never had zero interest in whales before starting to read this book. Once he finished the whole book, he started googling about them and learning more and more. I disagree with Jason’s review because I didn’t love the book. I actually thought the book was really boring and I had no interest in it or about whales before or after. Matt’s review on of Moby Dick found on Goodreads.com explains how it was complicated to read. Also, he explains how he kind of had to push himself to read because a lot of parts of the book were boring. But then again a lot of parts in the book he explains were pretty funny and very active. I agree with Matt’s reviews just because it was a little complicated to read. Some chapters did get a little boring and dreadful to read but there were also good chapters that kept you active in the reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in the sea or someone who’s just interested in reading classic literature. This book is a good book for someone who wants to read about how people just go after what they love. This book is not like other books I’ve read because the books I usually read are suspenseful and scary.
Jessy Reyes
Mr. Smith
Reading Response
6 April, 2013
The title of my book is called Moby Dick. The author of this book is Herman Melville. Generally this book is about whaling and the adventures it comes with as well addiction-like revenge that can manifest with it. Ishmael is a man that goes on a whaling adventure trying to experience what it’s like. Ahab is the captain of the Pequot (which is the ships name) and is out seeking revenge. The main character of this book is Ahab and the antagonist is Moby Dick. The role Moby Dick plays is a white whale that Ahab is determined to capture. The issue between Ahab and Moby Dick is that while whaling one day Ahab tried to capture Moby Dick, and during the process his leg was bitten off. Since that day, Ahab has been determined to capture and kill this whale. The rising action is when Ahab finally finds Moby Dick. Ahab sets himself out to sea in a small boat and tries to kill Moby Dick. The type of cat-chases-mouse like game turns for the worse and becomes more of a mouse-chases-cat unfortunate event. Moby Dick ends up dragging Ahab under the sea as well as sinks the Pequot (the ship) and all the people in it.
I did not choose this book, it was given to me as a class assignment. The major theme in this book is whaling and the way it can change you. The major theme is revealed and developed through Ahab. Ahab shows how the whaling adventure can turn into an addiction like feeling. The feelings of needing to kill whales and be at sea, and sometimes like in this case, go after a particular whale. I would say the theme is psychological and original. My initial reaction to the text was that I didn’t like it do the fact that I wasn’t interested to the book. I thought the book would be boring, and plain. This book is different from the usual books I read because the books I usually read are more suspenseful and more about people in high school or college and there’s something unusual about them. An example book would be Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz. I would recommend Moby Dick to an older person who might be interested in whaling or someone who is into classics because that is basically what this book is! A book about whaling and the adventures it comes with as well as being a classic.
Kellie Lord
Mr. Smith
Moby Dick
5 April, 13
Independent Reading Project Response
The title of my independent reading project is Moby Dick. The author of this book is Herman Melville. Generally my book is about adventure and revenge. Ishmael wants to see what else there is to life and how other people live. He is a very sheltered man and wants adventure, something worth being able to tell people about. Captain
Ahab on the other hand wants revenge for Moby dick, and he wont have it any other way. When trying to catch Moby Dick before he bit off his leg and that’s why he wants to kill Moby Dick before any other whale.
I wouldn’t really say there is a main character in this book although it is told from Ishmael’s point of view. If I had to pick a main character I would say it is captain Ahab. Captain Ahab has lost his leg by trying to capture Moby Dick so this has now become and obsession to him. Captain Ahab will not stop until he is either dead or captures Moby Dick.
I did not choose this book. It was a class assignment. The major themes of this book is Ishmael wants more adventure to his life, he wants a life well lived. As captain Ahab only wants revenge for Moby Dick. I would say this is without a doubt original. I have never read anything like it or even close to it. In my opinion the theme is psychological.
My initial reaction to this book was that I disliked it. I disliked this book because I though it was boring and that made it hard for me to motivate myself to read it. I also found it kind of difficult to read. This book is not like anything I have read before. Usually I read suspenseful mystery books. I don’t really go for the back in the day books. I like up to date books. I don’t think I would recommend this book unless the person is into old classics.
Tatiana Buchanan
English 3/4
Mr. Smith
4 April 2013
Book Response
The title of my reading book is Moby Dick written by Herman Melville and adapted by Glenn Holden. I did not choose this book it was a class assignment. In all honesty my initial reaction to the book was boring and a bit confusing. When I started reading the book I had no interest of continuing to read it, but I had to and over time I gained a little interest in the story, enough to actually read it and not scan it. This book is like no other book that I have read before unless it was for a class, and yet I still never really read them. My interest of books is science fiction, and this book is far from what I would read. The story line in science fiction is unusual and exciting and makes feel like its just another world, but also expands my mind and the way I think a bit more than books like Moby Dick. I would only recommend this book to someone who is actually is looking for a good read for school or higher level of reading, but not for someone who is looking into world that is not much like your own or the ones you’ve read about.
In the story Moby Dick we meet our narrator Ishmael who is going on a whaling voyage for his first time and finds him self in a position where there is no way out and a lot more to take in then he planned on. As we go through storms, days and nights, years after years we finally start learning more about our antagonist Captain Ahab of the Pequod. Captain Ahab has an impression of self-kept captain and with only one goal, catch and kill Moby Dick. Captain Ahab is like any other captain in many ways but also has his own additional qualities to him. There were always talks of the white sperm whale that no one really knew much about, Ahab found him self facing Moby Dick and in the action losing his leg. As some seamen will tell you in the book that their captain also died for three days on an island and then came back to life when his body was all ready to get buried. Ahab’s life ever since Moby Dick, who tried to kill him, has always been about finding him and killing him while no other man cared much about the white whale. So finally Ahab once again finds him self face to face with the white whale. Moby Dick is this mysterious great white whale that no one knew much about, except Captain Ahab.
The themes in Moby Dick are man vs. nature, and man vs. him-self. The theme of man vs. nature is revealed and developed from Captain Ahab and Moby Dick. When we meet Captain Ahab through the story we find out that that his main goal is to revenge Moby Dick who took his leg off. The theme of man vs. him-self is revealed and developed from Captain Ahab him self. Through the whole voyage we find out that Ahab has an obsession with Moby Dick. There are many other themes in the book that could be looked at, but these two really stood out to me the most.
Tiesha Palacios
Mr. Smith
Independent Reading Project
17 January 2013
Book Response
The title of my book choice is Maximum Ride, The Angel Experiment, which is the first book in a series, and written by James Patterson. I chose the book because a while ago I got a bookmark that had the manga version of the book on it, and it intrigued me. I actually read the first volume of the manga version, and then I decided to read the book. I am more prone to reading fantasy, adventure types of books, and that is what I thought this book was. My initial reaction to the text was okay. The chapters were short, but there were a lot of them. I would have liked the book more if the chapters were longer. This book is similar to the other books I have read. I would recommend this text to people like me, who also enjoy fantasy and adventure books. It is a great book, and a great read. The story is about six kids that have wings, and each have different special powers.
The main character is Max, short for Maximum Ride, a name she had given herself. Max and the other five children (Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel) were hiding from The School, the place were all the experiments that gave them their powers happened. All the children had wings and could fly, and they each have other powers. Angel can read minds and Gazzy can imitate voices. The kids escaped the ‘School’ with Jeb, a former doctor that experimented on them at the ‘School’, and were hiding in a mountain. The kids were experimented on, and treated horribly at the ‘School’, so they went into hiding so they could not be found, and brought back there. All isn’t well though, and the ‘Erasers’, inhuman monsters that were made at the ‘School’, found them and Angel was taken back to the ‘School’. The kids immediately make chase, and travel to where Angel was taken. It isn’t that easy though, especially since a series of unfortunate events happened. Max getting hurt saving a girl in trouble, the Erasers ambushing Iggy and Gazzy back at their home. The kids were badly injured, and taken back to the ‘School’. There they find out that Jeb, the man that helped them escape, was still working at ‘The School’ and was still experimenting on children. They also find out that Ari, Jeb’s seven-year-old son, was turned into an Eraser, and was the leader of the group of Erasers that were chasing. After healing from their injuries, they quickly escape. And using files they stole from the ‘School’, they start to locate where their parents are.
I would recommend this book to mostly anyone. Those who enjoy a good read, who like to read fantasy and adventure types of books. It is just a good, entertaining book, and I think those who read it will really enjoy it. Compared to other books I have read, it is the same. I enjoy reading adventure books, and that is what this was. I like to read anything that is intriguing.
Ana Lopez
Mr. Smith
16 January 2013
Creative Writing
Independent Reading (project Response)
The title of my independent reading book is of my book “The color of my words”. The author of my independent reading book is Lynn Joseph. Generally my book is about a twelve years old girl that wanted to be a writer from Dominican Republic.
The main character is Ana Rosa Hernandez. Ana Rosa has issue with her brother Guario they had a problem because Ana Rosa stole Guario’s notepad to write in, but she felt bad. She wanted to be a writer even though stealing was wrong. She took the notepad and used all the paper, she felt guilty and she told Guario that she took the notepad and used all the paper and she apologized to him and he forgave her.
I decided this book because I read the back and I found it interesting because on the back of the book says a twelve years old girl from the Dominican Republic that wants to be a writer but only the president of the Dominican Republic is the only one that can write books. The major theme is at the end when the government killed Guario. He was doing a protest to protect the neighborhood were they lived. He revealed because he was trying to protect the neighborhood but the government didn’t really cared about Guario’s opinion or him.
The theme of this book is to be brave no matter what happens, because Guario always showed that he was brave the whole time. I really like this book because is an interesting story that little girl has a passion for writing things that is amazing and how she develops fighting for her dreams and better future. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to accomplished their dreams, because it’s inspiring and shows that it doesn’t matter who you are or what kind of religion you are, you can do what you dream of doing, and you can learn about a new culture and a lot of new things.
Luis Ciriazo
Mr. Smith
Independent Reading
17 January 2013
Independent Reading Response
The title of my independent is book is Cather In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. I decided to read this book because I was told that it was a relatively good reflection on the struggles that the youth face today. This book is about a young man named Holden. Holden gets kicked out of school and doesn’t know how to tell his mom so he goes into town for the weekend. Along the way he meets a variety of people.
Through out the story it seems as if Holden himself is the protagonist and antagonist. However, during the beginning of the book the antagonist is his roommate Stradlater. His roommate steals his girl and they fight. Holden walks away with a broken nose.
I read this book because someone told me that it was a good book to read and I figured it was a really popular piece of literature so I decided to give it a go. I think that the theme of the story is that you have to take time and apply yourself you cant just expect things to fall into your lap. Being a cynical procrastinator will never accomplish anything. This book had a very original theme about Holdens downward spiral as a socially awkward person.
I would never recommend this book to some one else. I wouldn’t recommend it because it was a dull and boring book for the most part. The main character, Holden Caulfield was the protagonist, I feel as if the situations that were faced to him and his inner most cynical side were the antagonist. Which is different from most books but I still did not enjoy it.
Anthony Levesque
Mr. Smith
Independent Reading Project
January 18, 2013
Book Response
The title of my book I read is the Travel Team by Mike Lupica. The book was published in 2004 and is based on the present time. This book is mainly about a young 7th grade boy who has big shoes to fill in the game of basketball.
His name is Danny Walker and he is the smallest in his grade but his heart for the game is immeasurable. With basketball running along the family from his father getting his 8th grade team to make it on TV in the championships, and then kept going forward making it to the NBA. Danny felt like he should do the same or at least make the team and go from there but when he was cut for size, him and his father made a plan for all the castoffs who got cut for all the wrong reasons. They were going to make a secondary team to show the other who was wrong.
The theme of the story is coming of age. It’s showing how Danny is coming from being young minded from maturing and showing his full potential from the game. Danny figures he won’t be short for ever and as he grows older his body will grow as well. So as he knows his height its going to matter in the next few years he takes that and makes it into motivation to push himself to better and go farther than his father did to make his own footsteps in his family history.
My independent reading book was good I didn’t really have any negative thoughts from or towards the book other than the length. I would recommend this book to any athlete or student encouraged by sports or use sports as a hobby because this book to any other book I’ve ready is very similar because my usually book choice has a lot to do with sports or something to the extent. My personal response to the book was great and I now found one of my own top authors so I intend to keeping following up on Lupica’s books because he left a good impr
Zach sabri
Mr. Smith
Creative writing
1/17/13
INDEPENDENT READING
The title of my book is The Rose That Grew From Concrete. it is written by Tupac Shakur and published by MTV books.
I chose this book because I wanted to know more about one of my favorite rappers of all time Tupac. People only see Tupac as a hardcore rapper but after seeing interviews of him and reading this book of poems, i understand Tupac much more. there is a man behind the mask of being only hardcore. in his poems he talks of love hate and over coming the odds of being a somebody from a nobody. I did enjoy the book but my innitial reaction to the book when i first opened it was why is it a bunch of poems? i thought the book would be about Tupacs life, like a biography. When i started reading the poems i started to like the book. I realized that Tupac had a soft side and as a 19 year old kid wrote some very deep poetry. if he wasnt a rapper, he would have been a poet.
this book was much different to other books in the sense of it not being a novel. it was still good and i read it in under 30 minutes, the only difference is there is no story line. i would recommend this book to anyone who loves hip hop or poetry. if you do not like those two subjects then this book is not for you, but if you do like those two subjects then this book is for you.
They say: madman_munx did a book review on amazon.com and said “he writes of so many issues we can all relate to – love,loss striving to achieve goals and just life in general” another person on amazon named “Baby Gurl” said that some of his poems made her cry. someone on another forum said that many adults feel that tupac was just another rapper but this person said that tupac was a powerful person and influential person, and many people idolized him. he could have been a great role model if he stayed alive longer. another person said that they gained alot of respect for tupac after reading this book and they are a fellow poet. he said that his poems where pure poetic brilliance. there are plenty of other reviews but these are just some i picked out randomly.
I say: This book has plenty of things people can relate to and i think thats why people like tupacs poetry so much. sure he was a hardcore rapper but thats what he had to do to get recognition in the rap game back in the 90’s with all of the competition. if you watch tupac interviews you can see he is a very caring person and he is very intelligent. he got accepted to a school of arts and poetry and influenced peoples lives. he encouraged people to follow their crazy dreams and paved the path for so many current rappers from L.A and all around the globe like kendrick lamar and ab-soul. tupac should be a top 10 20th century most influential person.
the main character in this book is tupac. The author is tupac./published by mtv books
i chose this book because i wanted to learn more about tupac life behind the rap.
my initial reaction to the text was that tupac can be very sensative and expose his personall thoughts. I felt this way because alot of the poems where talking about relationships and how he made it from nothing.
This book does not compare to other books that i have read because it is all poems. it is not in the sence of a book.
i would recommend this book to anyone who is a tupac or poet fan and wants to learn a little more about tupac.
Most of Tupacs poems in the book where about making something out of your life from nothing.
Tupac had issues with the way his life was. He didn’t like being poor and the dangers of where he was living.
One of the poems in the book called “tears in cupids eye” was about his best friend.
This book was good and everyone who likes hip hop or poetry should read it.
Kellie Lord
Mr. Smith
Independent Reading Project
7 January 2013
Book Response
The title of my independent reading book is The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordan. This book is by Stephen King. This book is about a girl named Trisha who is having a hard time with life getting lost in the woods. Her parents were recently divorced and her mother and only brother constantly fight about it. Trisha wishes every day that it would stop or she could somehow escape it.
The family usually takes many hiking trips together, but since the divorce it’s just been Trisha, her mother Quilla, and her brother Pete. The whole way down the path Pete and Quilla are fighting about how the divorce is always taken out on him and Trisha. Trisha figures since the two are arguing, they won’t go far so she stops to go to the bathroom. As soon as she is done she cant hear or see her mother and brother fighting anymore. She tries to find them but ends up off the trail going west. Trisha ends up lost for days with little food and water. Frightened by the noises and darkness of the woods she tries to run her way out of the never-ending woods. Deep in the woods the only thing she has to keep her hopes up is her little portable radio. She listens to it when the Red Sox games are on. Her hope is that when Tom Gordan her favorite player saves the game that she will be saved as well.
I chose this book because my favorite author Stephen King wrote it. Every book I have read by him so far I have liked. I would say the theme of this book is man against nature, or in this case girl against nature. This theme is developed as her mother, brother and Trisha go for a hiking trip and she gets lost, leading her in the complete opposite direction on the trail. She needs to find a way to survive and protect herself long enough to be found and taken home. I think this theme is unoriginal. There are many other books about someone trying to survive in the wilderness or maybe a different setting.
My initial reaction to this book was disappointed and I didn’t like it. I felt this way because the book was boring and not what I was looking for. I was looking for a mysterious suspenseful book, which is what Stephen King usually writes. I have not read any book like this. The books I like to read are mystery or suspense. I wouldn’t recommend that anyne else read this unless you can relate to the story.
Barbara Bixby
Mr. Smith
Independent Reading
January 10, 2013
Independent Reading response
The title of my independent reading book is The Future of us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. Generally the book is about being a teenager in the 90’s and finding out what your future is like by stumbling upon a website that does not exist yet. And while the teenagers are finding out things about there future selves they are doing things in the present to tamper with the future and make it change. There are loves, breakups, and more in this book.
Emma and Josh are the main characters in the book. They are best friends and have been sense they were in elementary school, they are around 15 and 16 years old. Emma got a computer for a birthday present from her dad. Josh had an AOL CD that he and his mom don’t use so he gave it to Emma. When Emma logged on to her AOL email she went to her favorites and there was a link called Facebook. Emma clicked on the link and it brought her to a profile of a woman who looked like an older version of her. As she looked more and more into it she realized it really was her. She told josh about the site and wondered if he had a page too. Emma clicked on her friends and found him. Compaired to Josh’s future Emma’s Sucked pretty bad. From then on Emma would tamper with things to try and change her future and it would be changed whenever she logged back onto Facebook but she just never seemed to be happy in the future and the present Emma was not happy with that.
What caught my eye about this book was the description. The whole being able to see your future from Facebook before Facebook was even invented idea was genious, very original. But the way the book was written wasn’t that great. I feel like a topic like this should have more detail on the idea instead of focusing more on teenagers and there relationship problems. If there was more future and less kissing I would be more impressed. Also the ending I felt like was rushed. It was very short, predictable, and corny.
I don’t think I would recommend this book to many people. It was very dull and jumbled around. I also had a lot of questions about things they put in the book and just never came back to by the end. The book just ends without giving answers to the 1 million random things that get thrown in the big book of mess. If I could change something about the book I would make it more structured and set on one thing rather than throwing everything they possibly could into one small book with a very big idea.
Abdullahi Mwanambaji
Mr. Smith
English ¾
17 January 2013
Independent reading book
The title of my book is The Heart Calls Home. The author of my book is Joyce Hanson. My book is about a slave who went to war and left behind a girl he loved and a kid he was taking care of. After he was released of his duties he started searching for the girl and kid he left behind so he can marry his lover and have a family of his own. The reason I chose this book was because of the description on the back. I looked at the cover at first and found it really interesting and that’s when I started reading the description. I like this book because of how the author puts everything out there, she doesn’t keep things away from the reader or sugar coat things. Her style of writing is a style that I can relate to. I’m not a great reader and there are many words that I don’t understand but as in I can understand whatever she’s trying to say and I can also put in my head the image she wants us to see as we read.
The main character in my book is a black soldier named Obi. In this story there isn’t anybody the protagonist had an issue with because Obi tried his best to stay on every ones good side. The action that occurred to cause the conflict was that Obi and the girl Easter tried to run away together but were caught and sent to Concentration camps. Obi then escaped the camp by signing up for the military and promised to return form Easter and that’s how they separated. After years of searching Obi and Easter meet again and they get married and live on Santa Ellen Island to start their own family like they both promised each other when they were The theme of this story is love; at least that’s what I think it is. Obi goes through so much to find the girl he loves and adores so much, and he never even once think about giving up hopes of finding her. There are many ways the theme is developed in the story. Way back before Obi and Easter planned to escape together they promised each other that no matter what happens they would wait for one another so they could get married. When they decided to run away together and got caught Obi went to war to escape camp and promised to return to Easter afterwards so they can marry, but before Obi kissed Easter goodbye and again made her promise she would wait for him. After he left the military he spent all of his time searching for one girl and that’s why I think the theme of this book is love. I would say the theme is traditional and familiar because now a days you find most books and films are based on love. I found the theme entertaining because here is a soldier who kept a promise for so long and became tied down to it.
My initial reaction of the story and the way the author writes it out is good. I feel this way because most of the times I have problems reading books because either I don’t understand what the author is trying to say or because I just can’t seem to relate to the book. When you can’t understand a book its hard to read and relate to it so you lose interest in the book. There are many comparisons to books I’ve read before and this one. The main comparison is as I said before I can relate to this book and its much easier for me to read a book I can relate to then books that I can’t. I would highly recommend this book to someone because of how easy it is to understand it and how the author knew what the initial reactions of her readers would be.
Maireni Silva
Mr. Smith
English ¾
16 January 2013
Independent Reading Response
My independent reading book The Vampires Assistant by Darren Shan is the second book of a sequel to the New York Times best seller Cirque Du Freak. The main character in The Vampires Assistant is Darren Shan.
One person that Darren has many conflicts with other then himself is Mr. Crepsley. The role that Mr. Cepsley plays in the book is that he’s Darren’s teacher and basically teaches him how to live his life as a vampire. . The problem between Mr. Crepsley and Darren is that Darren’s trying so hard to be a normal teenager but being half vampire keeps him from doing certain things he wants to do and decides to blame Mr. Crepsley for turning him into a vampire. The sequence of events that had occurred to cause the conflict was that a freak show was in town and Steve Leopard Darren’s best friend decides to attend with Darren. After the show Steve recognizes one of the characters from the show and realized he was a vampire. Steve begged the vampire also known as Mr. Crepsley to turn him into one. But there was something stopping him from turning him into one. The vampire discovers that Steve has evil blood and could not proceed. Mr. Crepsley had a tarantula spider that bit Steve. Steve ended up in the hospital, Darren had no choice but to go see Mr. Crepsley and ask him to save Steve. In return Mr. Crepsley wanted Darren to become Half Vampire and travel with him as his assistant. The outcome of this was that Steve was saved and Darren was forced to fake his own death, become half vampire and travel the world as a vampire’s assistant.
The theme of my independent reading book is you may sometimes have to sacrifice what you believe in for someone else. The sequence of events that lead up to the conflict is when Sam begs Darren to let him join the circus du freak but darn refuses. In result to this Sam decides to sneak in when the wolf man chases him. The wolf man catches Sam and eats his insides. In the end Darren proves his loyalty by deciding to go against what he believed in and drank the blood of Sam in order to save Sam’s memory.
My initial reaction to the text was that I was surprised at how much I liked the book. I felt this way because I loved the way the author had described every obstacle or conflict throughout the story, using vivid details that had created images in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone honestly. It is such a good book that I think that everyone should have the chance to read Darren’s story. I feel like this book doesn’t really compare to other vampire stories because Darren in this story is still part human and something inside him still wants to be that teenager.
Arianny Tavarez
Mr. Smith
Creative Writing
16 January 2013
Reading Response
I read A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer; this book was one of the most relist books that I have read in a really long time. I would re- read it anytime and finish the rest of the series. A Child Called It is about a young boy no older than ten years old. He is abused by his mother that is an alcoholic. Dave has two younger siblings, but they aren’t treated like him. Dave as a small boy has become the outcast of the family. He is no longer allowed to sleep in the house. He’s forced to sleep in the garage in an old army coat. Also he’s not allowed to eat with the family; he eats left over if he has the chance to or if there is any left over. Dave’s forced to steal food from other children at school because he never has anything to eat. He goes to school with the same wore out cloth, day by day making him also the outcast of this grade.
His life at home has become a night mare this mother plays with him “little games”, making him become the slave of the house. One random day the game can be cleaning and on other they can be unexpected just as sitting on the stove while it’s on. No one can stop his mom, not even Dave’s dad. Dave feels as is his dads his only help, Dave’s father is barley in the picture due to all the tension in the house. Whenever Dave’s father is around and tries to help the “games” just become worst. Dave’s begins to feel helpless and as if there was no way out.
The reason I choice this book was because back in middle school I started reading but never got the change to finish it. This book as one main theme and its life’s struggle making it psychological because of all the things that he is put through. Dave’s struggle as a little boy is told throughout the book. He explains his feeling towards everything his mother puts him through. Each chapter is a new struggle and a new challenge for him to overcome.
My first reaction to his book was that it seems a bit too dramatic, but I read I saw that it wasn’t. I enjoyed this book so much, hands down its one of the best book that I’m ever going to read. Compared to other books this book is the best one I’ve read so far. There wasn’t a minute that I felt bored or wanted to stop reading it. It had my whole attention through the whole entire book.
E. Truman wrote about the three reasons he read the book. He wanted to experience the terror that the protagonist goes through. He wanted to be able to understand the social impact that this book had. He also wanted to examine the writing prose of the author. He enjoyed the dream like style of the story. The book revealed to him the true effects of war. He rated the book five stars.
I read the book for some of the same reasons. The struggle that Joe Bonham endures is greater than any other man. This book was hard to read because it is narrated from a dream state. This book effected many people, especially in times of war. This book has effected the course of American history.
Stephany Hernandez
Mr. Smith
English 3/4
16 January 2013
The Hunger Games
The title of my Independent reading book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The main character of my independent reading project is Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is a loving young girl that will do anything for her mother and sister. She feels like she is the only person they can depend on after her father died in mines. The only people that Katniss does not like and has problems with throughout the whole book is the Capitol because she feels like they think everyone in her district are just little puppets.
Every year the capitol hosts The Hunger Games where two people a boy and a girl from each district will participate in this game and the last person alive is the winner. Ever since Katniss took the place of her little sister and went in The Hunger Games she wanted to do something different to make the Capitol look dumb. Throughout the whole book she is thinking of a way to not let the Capitol think of her as a puppet. In the end she proves she is smarter than the Capitol by ending the game the way she wanted it to other than the way Capitol wanted it to end.
I chose to read The Hunger Games because of the movie that came out a couple months ago. Everyone that read the book said it was as good as the movie. The main theme of The Hunger Games is survival. Throughout the whole story the main theme, survival, is developed more and more towards the end of the story. Katniss has to survive throughout the whole story even before she joined The Hunger Games. After her father died in the mines she not only had to make sure she survived but she had to make sure her mother and younger sister also survived. Every day she would go to the woods to kill animals to bring food on the table. Katniss would risk her life everyday to make sure her mother, her younger sister, and herself survived. Similarly, she had to survive during the hunger games.
The Hunger Games is different than other books I read in the past because it caught my attention right away, and no book has ever caught my attention. This book has also made me want to finish the second and third books in the series and made me enjoy reading. I would recommend The Hunger Games to everyone because this is a good book for adults, teenagers, and kids because it very easy to understand.
Lala Hunt
Mr. Smith
I.R.P
16 January 2013
Book Response
The name of my independent reading book is A Gathering Of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines. The main character in the story is George Eliot Jr. also known as Snookum. He is a young man and is about 18 years old. He really doesn’t have issues with anyone in the story; he is more of the messenger throughout the town. The town tries to keep the secret away from Snookum. But the only thing he knows of right now a several amount of people have killed a man, they are trying to figure out the right person who did it. The falling action I think would be finding out who the mystery killer is and when they will get hanged.
I choose this book because the cover really had me attracted for some reason I really don’t know why. I would say the theme is equality. Equality in the story is for the separation of whites and blacks and that how they can come together even though most of the town doesn’t want to. I say that the theme is more personal then anything else because of what the text brings up.I actually really like the text it’s a mystery and has a lot of sudden events that make you want to read more. I think the reason why am so attracted to this book is because I love mystery books I cant compare this book to anyone I have read because its my favorite of all time. I would actually recommend this book to grades 10-12 only because of the content it holds.
Juan Perez-Cruz
Mr. Smith
Independent Reading
15 January 2013
Independent Reading Project Response
My Independent reading book was “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton. I chose the book because all my friends talked about it and I decided to give it a shot. My reaction to the text was really positive, I loved the storyline and the message it sends to all teens, no matter what era you lived in. This story shows how important friendship and brotherhood can be. I’m not a big fan of reading but this is definitely one of the best books I ever read. I would recommend this book to everyone because it sends an important message about family, even if you are not blood related and taking care of each other.
The Outsiders is about two groups of teens, the Socs and Greasers who don’t get along because of their differences. The Greasers are from the “wrong” side of town and the Socs from the “right” side of town. The Socs are a gang of wealthy teens who think they are better than those less fortunate, and they feel it’s alright to treat them bad because they think they can get away with it. The Greasers are the poor teens that live life the best they know how and they have a strong bond and take care of each other. The Socs would always seem to get a hold of Ponyboy and beat him up or threaten him. Until one night, it went too far.
The main characters, Ponyboy and Johnny run away after a fatal stabbing occurs in which one of the Socs is killed. One of the Socs was trying to drown Ponyboy in the fountain and that was when Johnny stabbed the Soc. The two of them hid out in a church.
One day while driving back to the church, they discovered it was on fire, and there were young schoolchildren trapped inside. Risking their own lives, they ran into the burning church to try to save the children. They were rushed to the hospital, with Johnny badly burned all over his body. He later died, but he died a hero. They were no longer known as criminals, but heroes who risked and gave their lives without a second thought.
I feel the theme to this story would be that no matter where you are from, what your income is and the house you live in, everyone is equal. These two groups, the Socs and the Greasers came from two completely different backgrounds financially and socially and they constantly clashed. Lives were lost in both of the groups and young men died when it could have been avoided. Death doesn’t discriminate when it comes to your background or reputation. I would say this story was an original and it was socially-motivated. I think this book gives a good look on the lives of teenagers and how they are categorized by their social status and their backgrounds. I loved the moral of the story. It showed the importance of friendship and the meaning of brotherhood. In the end, this group of young men who were portrayed as criminals and delinquents, turned out to be the heroes. I have a close group of friends that I consider a brotherhood and this story reminded me of our group in some way.
I could relate to this book because it dealt with the lives of teenagers. This book was more about life and the struggles teenagers go through. Other books I’ve read are more fictional and don’t make me feel part of the story. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody that hasn’t yet read it. I think it would be hard to find somebody that hasn’t read it already.
Lizmarry Baez
Mr. Smith
English ¾
11 January 2013
Independent Reading Project Response
The title of my book is Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan. This book is about two boys that went to a freak show. The show is about human that are not normal, they look different and can do things that humans can’t do. The main character of this book is Darren, Darren has issues with Steve who is his best friend. They have a problem because Darren found out that Steve wants to be a vampire and that a vampire told him he is evil.
Darren and Steve had a problem because Darren didn’t want to tell Steve that he heard everything after the freak show. Darren stole the spider of the vampire of the freak show, then one day Steve went over and the spider bit Steve. Darren then had to turn into a vampire to help Steve survive. Darren was scared and he didn’t want to do it at first but he had to do it to save his best friends life, he turned into a half vampire and he didn’t told Steve about it, Steve after a while found out about it. Steve was really mad at Darren and he told him that he was going to grow up to hunt vampires and that he was going to find him.
I decided to choose this book because my friend told me about it and she said his books were really good. Also the name Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare made it way more interesting and that’s when I said I wanted to read it. The major theme is at the freak show. They are revealed because they said they wanted to go to that freak show and it never really comes around and it’s only for older people. The theme of this book is loyalty. It shows loyalty because Darren committed to be loyal to Steve and he turned into a vampire just to help Steve survive.
My reaction towards this book as soon as I started to read it was that I really liked it. I feel this way because I never thought I was going to enjoy reading a book, I thought reading books were a chore and something to just do it in school. Compare to other books I have read, this book was the best one. I recommend this book to someone else to read because this book is really interesting and it’s a really good book. As soon as you start reading you don’t even want to stop.
Felicia M_ Rose
Mr. Smith
I.R.P
14 January 2013
Book Response
I read Identical by Ellen Hopkins; it was a dramatic, bewildering narrative that I would gladly read more than once much like many other Hopkins books.
Identical shares the protagonist role and point of view with two twin sisters named Kaeleigh and Raeanne, t heir point of view alternates every three-to-five pages. In Kaeleigh’s point of view pages, she battles flashbacks of being sexually abused by her father, struggles with bulimia and self-harm. In the book she frequently mentions “an accident” caused by her father; a car accident involving the entire family that ultimately destroyed Kaeleigh’s young life. Due to the sexual abuse she has endured she is unable to become physically and emotionally come close to Ian, her best friend who has always tried to decode her and her secrets. Through Raeannes point of view, she appears to be completely different from Kaeleigh emotionally. Raeanne uses drugs, alcohol, and men to cope with being ignored by her father, she’s practically jealous of their fathers and Kaeleigh’s relationship, and she suffers with anorexia. Raeanne and Kaeleigh’s mother is a Congresswoman and constantly away from home, purposely, to escape her broken family.
I decided to read this book in particular because I’ve enjoyed many of Ellen Hopkins books in the past; I’m really fond of her writing style. The major theme seems to be a psychological mind game, the stories twists make the reader reflect on the mental illnesses people face and the tragic affects people can easily have on the lives of their family. The theme is revealed when the plot goes into great detail about what Raeanne and Kaeleigh do in there spare time to cope with their issues. In their shared point of views they talk about feeling insanity creep up on them; Raeanne does drugs to numb her anger and stress while Kaeleigh self-harms to distract emotional and mental pain with physical mutilation.
This theme is familiar compared to Hopkins other dark, gloomy books. Initially, I couldn’t get interested in the text but the more I read the more I became very determined to reach the conclusion. The beginning of the story, I believe, was a little slow and didn’t get into enough detail. It didn’t seem to draw my attention. However, this book, compared to the many other books I have read, has had one of the biggest twists at the end, which I really loved. I’d recommend this book to anyone who is patient enough and able to appreciate an intricate plot because the story’s rising action is incredibly deliberate and creative.
Jonae Texeira
Mr. Smith
IRP
14 January 2013
Independent Reading Project Response
The title of my independent reading book is Edge of Ready by L.B. Tillit. My book is mainly about a teenage girl, Dani who struggles with her teen life. Dani focuses her life mainly on school and taking care of Benny, her little brother. Dani has a young mother who also has difficulties supporting herself and her little brother. Shortly after, a horrible rape and its powerful aftermath threaten to bring Danis life crashing down forever. The main character of this book is Dani. Dani, the protagonist has serious, devastating issues with the antagonist’s throughout the whole book. The antagonist plays the role of being an older, terrible young man. He does things that should never be spoken of to Dani. The actions of these events occurred because of Dani having the antagonist’s sister as her best friend. Her “best friend” caught her up in an upsetting, risky situation. The outcome of this rising action eventually got resolved positively.
I chose this book because I read the summary on the back, as it automatically caught my attention by all aspects. I also heard about this book from a friend of mine who also enjoys similar books as me, so she referred it to me. The major theme of Edge of Ready is sense of self- finding strength from within. This is a perfect theme fitting this novel. Dani has showed strength from within ever since the beginning. She had had a variety of challenges that she overcame with the help of progress. For example, in the beginning of the story Dani struggled with helping her mom out with a lot of things, her senior year not being her main priority because of her mom, and her troubles with the rape of her “best friends” brother. Later in Edge of Ready, Dani was on the edge almost not being able to live and balance with all the negativity happening in her life. By overcoming her challenges and having sense of self she began to move forward with a positive state of mind. Dani moved out of her house with her new, helpful, caring boyfriend. Dani also graduated high school finally with the help of actually finding strength from within. All her dreams she thought would fail, accomplished just when she thought it would never happen. The theme of this novel is being socially-motivated. I feel this way because Dani at first had no faith in herself with overcoming her goals. She eventually became strong and socially-motivated herself and did everything positive to get where she is now.
My initial reaction to this book varied throughout. Towards the beginning of the novel I really was interested and liked it very much. Towards the middle and end it started to disappoint and saddened me. I felt this way because I had a whole different positive perspective in the beginning, which turned as I read into the book. Edge of Ready was still one of the best books I’ve ever read. This book compares to other books I’ve read because, most of the books I read have a similar story behind it. I would recommend this book to someone else, preferably older than fifteen years old. This is because Edge of Ready demonstrates the difficulties of growing up as your getting older, and also teaches small life lessons such as teenage difficulties, relationship issues and how to deal with them.
Jenny Gjinaj
Mr. Smith
English 4
14 January 2013
Independent Reading Response
The title of my independent reading book is Someone To Love Me by Anne Schraff. My book is about Cindy, the main character that has a lot of teenage problems going on. Cindy has a lot of problems at home and school. At home her mother doesn’t show her much love. Her mother is head over heels for her new boyfriend and is never around Cindy when she needs her. Cindy also hates going to school. She feels like all the other girls are better then her and that no guy will ever love her. Cindy plays the role of a lost soul. She really doesn’t have a family, her mother is never around, her boyfriend is abusive, she just doesn’t really know where she stands in life.
I chose this book because I found it very interesting because the title refers to “someone to love me”, I’m a teenager myself and it talks about what could honestly happen to a lot of teenagers in dangerous relationships. According to many of the book reviews there’s consensus that the main theme of my book is “the greatest love is that which people can have for themselves” (Goodreads.com). I would argue that this is a psychological theme because she has to get to know herself and love herself before she opens up to someone else. Cindy struggled a lot in the relationship that she was in but in the end she finally realized that she had to love herself before anyone else does. I liked the book because it relates to my life a lot and it connects to others that I’ve read about teenage girls struggling with bad situations.
Vanermi Figueroa
Mr. Smith
January 11, 2013
Independent Reading Project
Independent Reading Project Response
The title of my independent reading book is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. My book is about a high school girl named Melinda Sordino. It is based on how she busted an end of a summer party by calling the cops. Her old friends don’t talk to her because of it, and people she doesn’t even know also hate her for it. No one really understands why she really called the cops. That night of the party something traumatic happened to Melinda. Andy a high school senior raped her. Since she has no one to talk to about it, she expresses her feelings through art in one specific class she takes Mr. Freeman’s art class.
The main character in the book speak is Melinda Sordino.
Melinda had plenty of issues with kids named Rachel, Ivy, and Andy. The antagonist’s role in the story is Andy who’s a senior who has a long history of sexually assaulting girls. Andy rapes Melinda at a party. She was the target at the time since she was a quite girl in high school. He was surprised to see her at the party. The outcome of the story was how got raped and told her whole art class about the terrible experience, drawing a picture of a tree explaining the horrible experience helped her ease her mind. Also telling her old best friend Rachel who she wasn’t friends with at the moment made her feel a lot better.
yeah ! ❤
borrrringgg 🙂 just kidding
your bored ?