Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

   In the book Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnenblick, is about a boy named Steven. Steven is in 8th grade and he love to play the drums. Steven takes you out of this world with his middle school challenges and the fact that his little brother has leukemia cancer. In the end we see that Steven has made personal sacrifices.
   Shaving his hair is on of the personal sacrifices Steve makes. he shaves his hair because he feels that Jeffery won't be alone. this show a lot of maturity and that he starts to care more about his brother and that he is become less self-centered. he is beginning to put his feet in others shoes.
   Another one of his sacrifices that he makes is kicking Renee Albert of of his house because she was sick. this show a lot of maturity he was thinking of someone else but himself.
   One of the challenges I thought was very personal was trying to give up his drumming lesson because his parents had to play bills, Jeffery's hospital bills. Steven truly love drumming and this shows a lot of concern for his parents not himself.
   Steven shows a lot of maturity throughout the book. He was dealing with nightmare of Jeffery's cancer and the struggle of a everyday life 8th grader. Even though WE don't deal with this kind of situation WE have other things to deal with. Sometimes things don't go our way but we HAVE to deal with it. Before you get upset about something think about it for a second or two because there are people who have it worse than you not getting something.

Memoir

   When I was five years old, I remember one “very scary” time of my life.  Starting  kindergarten. It was a new school. I had to make new friends, but the thing I was going to miss most was my mom. I attended Daycare in the same building at my mom’s job.  I was always in the class across from her office. So whenever I got hurt she was always there to cradle me in her arms.
   It was my first day and everyone knew each other but me. I was considered the “new girl”. I walked into the classroom and everyone looked at me.  As I walked by to meet the teachers I could hear the girls in the “group” whispering stuff about me. “Oh my god did you see that girl, she’s so ugly” said one of them. “Lets not be friends with her” said another. 
There were these two girls in a different group. One looked just like me but with straight hair and the other, dark skin with straight black hair in two little ponytails. I walked with my mom, up to the teacher. I sensed all eyes in my direction. 
When my mom left I cried. This went on for 3 months, September, October, and November. Everyday I cried for minutes or for hours. I can remember what was going on in my head those 3 months. Why am I here? Where is mom? I don’t like it here. Where am I? I have no friends. Can I go home? My mom and my teacher tried different strategies to help me not cry.  They let me take my favorite stuff animal but that still did not work.  I overheard my mom saying that she would change my school if I did not try and continued crying.
   One day when my mom left the two girls that were not in the “group” took me to their table. They told me it would fine. “Really” I asked and they said “yeah.” Ever since that day the three of us were B.F.F.s. My friends and I were in the “gifted program” so we were together from kindergarten to 5th grade.  We were inseparable.
   When writing this story...looking back at it...I realized that I didn’t need my mom to be there I had plenty of friends. I had to suck it up and deal that me and my mom would be separated for almost 6 hours. Girlfriends and Guy friends, I still keep in touch with all my friends today. I call them on the weekends or whenever I have spare time.

Anya's Ghost #2

Where did I leave off.....oh that's right Anya has a new ghost friend who helps her with everything. She cuts gym class every three months until one day she has to do the bleep test. It is exactly like the pacer. Sean, Amya's crush comes in the gym to watch his girlfriend do it. During the bleep test the worst possible thing happens to Anya she falls forward and reveals her underwear. Anya rushes out of gym class and talks to Emily, the ghost, about not being able to cheat in gym. Then she finally talks to Sean. The next chapter was about was awesome Emily is. She helps Anya talk to Sean, help raise her grades and smoke when no one is around. 

On Sunday... Anya has to go to church but lies to her mom by telling her she got her period. She just went out on a walk with emily and they talked about how Emily died. I am almost done and can't wait to tell you the rest.

Anya's Ghost

Anya's ghost is a graphic novel by Vera Brosgol. Anya's ghost begins with Anya's mom cooking a Russian dish called СЫрники which is cheesecake in english. Anya hears what they are having for breakfast and say "СЫрники is so greasy, cant we just have some low fat pop-tarts." Her little brother comes in and says "I love СЫрники." In reply Anya says he can have hers. Anya's mom believes there is nothing wrong with being a little fat. "back in Russia being fat meant you were a fat rich man" said Anya's mom...."I don't think american boys go for girls that look like rich men" said Anya....Anya gets mad at her friend Siobhan. She walks into the forest thinking about what just happened and winds up in a well. She sits in the well with a ghost who she doesn't even know the name of and the ghost help her escape the well. One of the bones from the ghost got into Anya's bag  and now helps her cheat through all her classes. I would love a friend like that. So far thats all I've gotten up to can't wait to tell all you readers what is coming up next in Anya's Ghost.

This I Believe

I believe that when you get more sleep, you are better behaved. When I was a little girl I never wore my glasses.

When I was about 7 or 8 years old I found out I need glasses. It was Friday and I was doing math. I couldn’t see what was happening on the board so I had to move closer to the board. I went home that night and told my mom. On saturday my mom and I went to the eye doctor. The doctor told me that I was near sighted, which means I can’t see from far. My mom chose the ugliest glasses ever. they were pink had a High School Musical sign on them. 

I was super embarrassed to wear them especially because I had to wear them all the time and because they were pink. I have always hated pink. to be honest in elementary school I was a tom boy. I played football with the guys and kickball. Girls would always try to talk me in to getting the guy they like attention but all I did was play ball. Most hated me because guys would drool over me, but it wasn’t my fault I had the face of a baby. I know I were pink all the time, but the color is the blood to a vampire. I am the vampire and the color is the blood. A couple of month later I broke my glasses in gym. That was the happiest day of my life. Four months after breaking my glasses I started to get headaches for no reason. In April I had a major headache. 

Luckily it was my birthday so I got picked up early and I also had swimming practice. I love swimming. Anyway, I asked my to go to bed but she said I had to take a shower because I smelled like chlorine. So I took a quick shower and went to mind you it was 4:45pm. I woke up the next morning felling like a new person. I felt like a baby entering the bright world thats ahead of me. The terrible thing about that morning was I didn’t do my homework. My mom wrote me a note saying that I had a fever of 101.7. That day I never gave my mom a attitude once usually I always give my mom attitude. This is why i believe that when you get more sleep you are better behaved.

Fallout

I recently started to read the book Fallout by Ellen Hopkins. In this book it can be confusing at times or quite interesting. In the book the main characters are Kristina's 3 kids Hunter, Autumn, and Summer.

The book starts with the first child born, Hunter. Explaining his "awesomely hot" girlfriend Nikki.
"And you've got Nikki.
She's sweet. Smart. Cute.
Oh, yes, and then there's her
body. I'm not sure what perfect
measurements are, but Nikki's
got them....... Delicious, from
lips to ankles, and she's mine.
Mine to touch,
mine to hold.
Mine to kiss all over her
flawless deliciousness." His chapter ends with "we go and go until the only thing left is to finish. And still I want more." At the moment I was hooked with the book like I was with Crank, Glass, and now Fallout.
When I finished that chapter about Hunter I want to read more about him so I flipped the page and I read the title Autumn Rose Shepard. I said wait Hunter, Autumn. Then I read the blurb to then realize that the book was about all three of her kids. So I wasn't surprised when it switched from Autumn to Summer.

Currently with Hunter, Autumn, and Summer are finding out all about their mother. for example hunter found out Brendan is his father and she hooked up with many men. Autumn is finally getting to see her mother. But all Summer knows is the Kristina's parents gave away Summer to take care of Hunter.

Almost finished with Fallout can't wait to tell you the rest.

Revolt of the Evil Fairies

  I  think it is unfair that African Americans are treated the way they are in the short story “Revolt of the Evil Fairies”  by Ted Poston What hit me most in the Revolt of the Evil Fairies was that there was a lot of discrimination. The teachers are light skinned, , and how they picked good and evil fairies, prince charming, and  sleeping beauty, yaller always got better lives than African Americans.

I think teachers being light skinned is not fair. At the Booker T. Washington Colored Grammar School all teachers were yaller. Yaller meanig african americans who can pass for white. According to the story “ they held most of the teaching jobs in the Booker T. Washington Colored Grammar School.” I think this is very unfair at least give them a chance. They are african american just with darker skin. In this story I see that there is a lot of injustice. 

Picking good and evil fairies. Also picking prince charming, and sleeping beauty. It should be based on how you play the part, on your audition. In the story it states "the first time they turned me down for Prince Charming that was the year they picked Roger Jackson. Roger was not only dumb, he stuttered. But he was light enough to pass for white." I think that unfair that a person that spoke clearly but had a dark complexion was turned down for a person who stuttered with a light complexion. This shows a lot of discrimination threw out the story.

“Yallers” always got a better life. They held most of the teaching jobs in the Booker T. Washington Colored Grammar School. They were “negro doctors, lawyers, and insurance men.” I think that african americans can do these job. I know this was during segregation but now in the 21st century we have a lot of negro doctors, lawyers, and insurance men. We also have a lot of women negro doctors, lawyers, and insurance women.

In conclusion there was a lot of discrimination shown through the story. In my school M.S. 51 William Alexander middle school it is a community where your skin complexion is not a factor. It is chosen on your talent. Mine is dance. And when I dance I feel like the weight of the world isn’t on my shoulders. If I was the protagonist I would just suck it up and learn that I could never be Prince Charming. (In the story that is exactly what he learns.)

Glass #2 A Quick Little Blog

   Ok, I'm not done with the book but it's so good. Last time I left off was when Trey asked Kristina to hook up. They hooked up and now they are dating. Kristina was kicked out of the house because Hunter got stuck under the chair while Kristina takes a nap. That morning she think "oh let me play with Hunter" but then, "my brain feels like mush" she says. Then she stays with Trey and his cousin Brad. Brad is also a member of the methamphetamine team (yes i made it up myself). Brad has two daughter the oldest is LaTreya, and the youngest is Devon. Trey  then leaves for school. 

    When getting high at a concert is never a good idea. When Kristina got high with some old friends and then leaving she crashes her car. She walked home, and Brad was worried. While Trey is at school Brad and Kristina don't hook up. Everyday Kristina calls Trey and she leaves a voice message. One day Trey calls and leaves a message but in the background Kristina could hear the voice of a girl...DUN...DUN...DUN. One night Kristina goes up to Brad's room and they sleep together. At that moment I was like WHAT!!!! At least three weeks after that they sleep in Brad's room they sleep the guest room (Kristina's "room"). In the middle of the morning Kristina hears foot steps, but not the girls foot step Trey's. She gets up and runs into the shower and slip. A couple  of hours later Kristina wakes up thinking she dead but she's not. She then apologized for what happened between her in bed with Brad. Trey says it's ok because he had sex with another girl!!!! 

THAT IS ALL I'VE GOTTEN UP TO.  CAN'T WAIT TO TELL YOU GUYS THE REST.

Glass

Ok ..... I realized that burned was not the book that came after Crank, Glass is. So far what i have read is the baby's name is Hunter. She still smokes, and is still on crank. She lives with her mom with her second husband, Scott. The adults (scott and her mom) still don't know about Kristina's drug problems. Kristina breast feeds Hunter and says "my nipples feel like hard chew toys ."

She has a job at 7-Eleven. She is very stressed between planning Hunter's baptism her job and her eighteenth birthday. In the morning on her B-DAY she gets three envelopes. The first one with $50 from Aunt Lou who lives in Gainesville. The second one from Scott's dad with $100. The last one from Scott and her mom with $200. Her dad has other plans in mind. They go from casino to casino, high, and no one asked Kristina if she was to young to be here or can I see an ID. They stay out until 9:06 A.M when the baptism is at 9:30 A.M. So Kristina, her dad, and Linda sue, "dad new doll" Kristina thinks,rush to the church looking like crap. Hunter is dressed in a little white tuxedo as the priest poors the holy water above Hunter's head. The next day would be her first day working at 7-eleven. Whoopee!!!

At work she learned to , stock shelves, scan items, clear gas pumps, make coffee and hot dogs. On a break,a smoke break (" yes I've taken up that habit again") Trey calls and asked to hook up. On they're date they get high and are on methamphetamine, the bigger word for meth, they start to make out and when they are about to get the party started Kristina says to stop and not until the second date they could party hard. 

That's all I've gotten up to hope you enjoy. 

Burned

A week a go I  started reading Burned and it's  almost like Crank except they're different people. Instead on Kristina there is Pattyn instead of Adam there's Ethan also instead of Brendan there's Derek.

Derek and Pattyn(love her name) go out for a while and one day when Pattyn and Derek are at Pattyn's house they have tequila and start to do what drunk people on the couch . Her shirt button were askew when Derek was trying to escape his zipper a long figure was at the door and before he could Pattyn said "Derek I think my dads here." At school when Pattyn  waved to Derek he rarely noticed her. She then goes up to him and akes what's the matter? " the matter is your crazy father." Then they have a long conversation and at the end the words Pattyn never said before " f##k you." I was shocked when she said that. She has good grade and is so nice to everyone she meets.

Her mom then gets pregnant and sents Pattyn with her aunt j who lives in Nevada. Then she meets Ethan who is madly in love with her( Pattyn not aunt j). When hanging out with her aunt, aunt j treats Pattyn like a daughter. One the beach with Ethan they make love. She write a journal entry saying

Okay, we did it. Ethan and I made love. Twice. 
The first time it kind of hurt... The second time it was
better. Ethan is so gentle so caring Derek would've 
attacked me.  

So far this is all I've read can't wait to tell you guys the rest.

Crank

Crank, where do i begin, this book is a crazy life story about a 16 year old girl named Kristina who meets the monster. The monster is a person named Bree, the other side of Kristina. Bree is a drug taking loon. Bree smokes and is on crank.

In the beginning Kristina is about to fly to hard dads.Her dad lives in Reno, Albuquerque. Her parents are divorced. Her mom sent Kristina to her dads every summer to get her to see her dad. over the summer she meets a guy named Adam. With Adam she is Bree and with her dad she is Kristina. Adam is the one who introduces Bree to smoking and crank. Since then Kristina and Bree have been hooked on to the two drugs. When she fly back to her mom she meets Brendan. When mom meets Brendan she likes Brendan. But one night she and Brendan do the wrong thing 16 years can do. Get drunk and have "it". If you know what i mean. Then she meets Chase a guy who she totally love. But even after Brendan and Kristina have "it" she wants Chase to make love to her but he refuses because she was raped to death by Brendan. A couple of weeks later Kristina find out she's pregnant. She is not pregnant because of Brendan. She pregnant because of the CRANK!!!!!! When she finds out she tries so hard to stop. she will have a snort or to every month or two she stopped smoking. She then gives birth to a healthy little boy.

Scott Pilgrim Precious Little Life

        

The book Scott Pilgrim was a great book. I would recommend this book because it is a funny and  addicting book. 
        
Scott pilgrim is 24 and lives with his "gay" best friend. Scott is dating a 16 year old girl name Knives chau. The two of them met on a bus when Knives dropped her book from a strong brake on the bus. Scott offer to pick them up and them they lived happy together. One night Scott had a dream that he was all alone in the dessert but a girl, Ramona Flowers, POPS up and says "no your not." When Scott and Knives are at the library, and they are coming down the stairs to check out books, Scott sees the girl in the dreams and falls madly in love with her. 

Scott and his friend join a band called Sex bo-bomb. Scott and Ramona hit it off on they're first dat and they continue to date. Scott and Knives break up. At Sex bo-bomb first concert one of Ramona's, out of seven, evil ex' challenges Scott for Ramona. AT THE END SCOOT WINS.

A Young Boy

   

     Over the summer we were instructed to read three books. The books I read was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Joy Luck Club, and A Young Patriot. The book that really caught my eye was A Young Patriot, by Jim Murphy.

The book A Young Patriot is a story about a young boy who seeks to be in war, in the American Revolution. The young boy name is Joseph Plumb Martin born on November 21,1760. Joseph and his friends were fourteen, fifteen and he thought if they are doing it so I should to. 

Joseph's mom Susanna married a wealthy man named Ebenezer. Ebenezer was a minister in a (Becket's Congregational) church. Ebenezer suddenly lost his job because of his impulsive nature which upset the people of the church. Joseph's parents decided to leave Joseph with Susanna's parents since money was running low. There he lived a well life. He even became attached to his grandfather who kept him busy. Joseph and his grandfather worked on a farm. As he grew up the British imposed many tax acts and violence on the American colonies.

When Joseph join the American army at a young age he experience different things along the way.  Two month of the daily army routine and he was homesick, boredom, and tired. In war Joseph was no where near afraid. He took a gun and started to shot at the British. Some soldiers had no shoes so they tied old rags around their feet others had no choice but to stay barefoot. They took boat and walked. Joseph and the other men that survived walked pasted many small fight but no one was killed. 

The return home was starving, freezing and being ill.  He was discharged from the army at the age of twenty two years old.  He married and had five kids, worked as a town clerk.

I would recommend this book because it teaches about the struggles and lessons people went through during the American Revolution.