Kaitlin's Blog

I am about to start reading “ Thirteen Reasons Why ” by Jay Asher. The story is told by a young boy named Clay Jensen and he has a crush on a girl named Hannah Baker. Clay comes home one day to find a box of tapes that Hannah left for him. Hannah is dead and the tapes contain her thirteen reasons why and Clay is about to find out that he is one of them. I had a couple books to read before I read this one so I lent it to a friend because I was telling her about it and she wanted to read it. She said that is was really depressing, but really good at the same time. I am very excited to begin reading it. PREDICTIONS When I think about it, I have a feeling that it is one of those situations where a boy likes a girl, but the girl wants nothing to do with the boy. I don’t think that Clay is going to be the main reason why Hannah is dead or anything but maybe something that Clay said or did could have just influenced Hannah’s decision to commit suicide. Another option could be that Hannah had ...

I just want to start of by saying that I really don’t like Lieutenant Kotler. He is mean to Bruno and he is just a big snob! He is mean and thinks he knows everything and thinks he is in charge of Bruno’s house when ever Bruno’s father is not there. I was very happy in the last part of the book when he gets transferred and is no longer a part of the story. Gretel seems like the typical big sister of the stereotypes. Thinks she is so much better and smarter that Bruno. She has a tendency to be bossy and mean to Bruno and she looks down on him a lot. She gets very angry when Bruno enters her room, even if she is in it. The tone of the book makes me very worried because Bruno know so little about what is going on and I could just tell that something bad was going to happen. That might be the author’s goal though. He could have written it like that on purpose so readers who don’t know too much about the Holocaust can realize how serious it was and is. I had a feeling that Schmuel was going...

I have just begun reading “ The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas ” by Johne Boyne. I am enjoying it so far because right of the start you want to know why Bruno and his family left Berlin. We know that it was because his father had to go there for work, but Bruno doesn’t know exactly what it is that his father does, and neither do the readers. When they get to the new house Bruno looks out his window and sees a BIG fence with spikes on it. There are huts in the fence and a lot of little boys and old boys and they are all wearing grey and blue stripped pajamas. At the new house there are soldiers all over the place. These soldiers work for Bruno’s father. I am starting to think that Bruno’s father is Hitler. If I’m wrong, he works for Hitler and that I am very sure about. The maid, Maria, says that the soldiers work for his father and even though they don’t say it in the book, they are living outside a concentration camp (I think that’s what they are called). I also think this because they...

I have a couple mixed thoughts about this book because it’s not really the type of book I would be into. There were really only 2 sort of big events that happened in the book. The rest of the book led up to those moments but it didn’t seem to build it up very much to me. I usually can’t read a book like that, when it’s got a really mellow tone throughout it. However, I actually really enjoyed the book. I’m not sure why exactly that is, but something about it just caught my attention and even though it wasn’t a book that I couldn’t put down, it was one that I didn’t want to stop reading. I was a little unsure about a few things. I read the last bit of the book so quickly because I wanted to finish it before my English class was over so I could give it back to my teacher that day. From what I understood about the book, Miles and Chip still aren’t 100% sure what happened to Alaska. They have a lot of good ideas and I get the feeling that they were getting very close to figuring it out, if...

Ok, I understand that Pudge is upset but he is being way to whiny. All he is thinking about is how Alaska didn’t love him and she loved Jake more than him. Come on, Pudge, man up a little bit. I know that he loved her but he can’t hate her for not feeling the same way as him. She had a boyfriend and she loved him. That is usually how it works. They spent one thanksgiving weekend together and all of a sudden he thinks she is just going to leave Jake for him. Pudge is annoying me so much for acting like a selfish baby. He is never going to see Alaska again, ever. He should be reminiscing about the good times that they had instead of pouting about what he never got from their relationship. I really want to punch him in the face. I am hoping that he will change his attitude before the book ends.

I was really not expecting something bad to happen to Alaska. I thought something bad was going to happen to Miles because he started to fall in love with Alaska and he was with her all the time. I thought Alaska was going to get Miles into a bad situation and he would be the one to die, not Alaska. I was totally not expecting that to happen. I was in awe when I read it because she was so young and so intelligent that she could have had a great life. I was worried when she drove off in the middle of the night, drunk, but I never thought she would actually die. I am very excited to finish the book now because I am eager to see how the rest of the book plays out and how Miles “Pudge” and Chip “ The Colonel” deal with their grief over the late Alaska Young.

I am getting closer and closer to the after part of this book. I have a busy weekend ahead but i am hoping to squeeze some reading in there somewhere. I am hoping to learn more about the gorgeous and mysterious Alaska Young. Her emotions seem to be all over the place right now. Sort of hot and cold so i am interested to see why that is.

It's interesting to learn about Miles because he seems so calm and collected, like he is his own person who sticks to his principles, but once he starts hanging out with Alaska and The Colonel, he begins smoking, which he originally had no intention of doing in his life. I'm predicting that he is going to get into some bad habits soon. I think this because of some of the things that go through his head and how he feels about certain things.

I have recently begun reading Looking for Alaska by John Greene. Nothing has happened yet to really grab my attention. Just like when I read Living Dead Girl . I have mainly been reading this book at school but I plan to take a day and read a good chunk of it soon, just like I did with Living Dead Girl . This book is sort of neutral to me at the moment, if that makes sense. It’s just a normal situation right now. There have been a few incidents that I find interesting. Fights with girls friends and oh, almost drowning in a lake. I couldn’t forget that one. All I’m saying is that there are enough interesting things happening to keep me wanting to read it. A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone Two of my friends have read this book and said it was really good and worth reading weather you could relate to it or not. It was just one of those books that every girl should read. It would either help you get closure on a past relationship (relating to the book), or warn you for a...

The end is near for Julie. Throughout the cancer and the change that she had gone through, when she found herself yelling a lot, her younger sister Rosie became afraid of her almost. I was worried that it was going to end that way. Julie would be gone and Rosie would only remember her yelling. The last chapter for Julie ends with a moment between the two sisters where they are happy and smiling at one another. I think that would give Julie some ease as she lets go, knowing that all was right with her baby sister. My heart just breaks as I write this and it is hard for me to hold back tears and not think of how I would feel if I was in Sam’s position. The dance company that Sam and Julie dance for is going on tour and they put on a big banquet to kick it off. Julie made sure she was there. “ Jules found time alone with each dancer in the company, holding a hand out for her to take and listening carefully to her words. Then Jules would speak, and even though I couldn’t hear what she had ...

The reason I wanted to read this book was because it was about two best friends that both share a passion for dancing. I danced for a long time and it was as much a part of me as it is for Julie and Sam. This book just kind of pulled me in right from the beginning. Nothing spectacular happened or anything that I could relate too, I just enjoyed it. It’s written with such clarity and explanation. There aren’t really chapters but its set up like there is. Each is titled with Julie, and Sam. It switches back and forth from Julies view, to Sam’s. Davida explains the important parts with such depth. I have yet to fully cry but I have definitely been getting teary eyed throughout this whole novel. I was only sixty pages in when I started to tear for the first time and I still have two hundred pages left to read. Julie gets cancer. It is multiple spots and it spreads and gets bigger. The bond between these to girls is so strong and so intense that its heart breaking when that bond starts to c...

At the end of the third paragraph of my last post I said that I wanted to cry. Well, I did. There is a moment near the end of the book where Mia’s grandfather is talking to her body. He is whispering in her ear and the author doesn’t drag out this situation but her choice of words just makes it so sad. I was trying so hard to hold back tears but I no longer could and I just let them stream down my face as I continued reading. Her grandfather is talking to her about the decision she has to make and it’s really sad. For starters, just having to make this kind of a decision would be a terrible thing to go through. I actually started thinking about the decision myself. What would I do? How would I even begin making this live or die decision? I liked the end of the book because it was happy and VERY romantic! I just wanted to read it over and over again. Love is truly what saved Mia’s life. I did how ever think that the author could have kept going for at least a few more pages because the ...

The last time I made a new post I was only 27 pages into my book. I hadn’t gotten very far in the past few days because I was only reading it when I was in English class or if I had nothing else to do in another class. I am currently on page 133 and I still plan on reading more tonight. I decided that I better kick up my reading pace a few THOUSAND notches since I still have another book to read and they are both due back to the library on Friday :/ YIKES! I didn’t really understand this book at first. I liked it. It wasn’t a chore for me to read but I couldn’t really understand it. Each new chapter is titled with a different time of day and a new chapter doesn’t begin on a new page. It simply continues on. This makes it longer because every page in the book is a full one. This kind of makes it dull to me because I enjoy when each chapter has a relatively worded title. It makes me stop and think about what is going to happen in this chapter, therefore, getting me more interested in the...

I have currently begun reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I am 27 pages in and it’s already not what I expected. I life changing event has just occurred in Mia’s life. When I read the part where Mia and her family go on a drive I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter and re-read it because I wasn’t expecting this to happen and I wanted to make sure I had read it correctly. I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone, just in case you want to read it, but it sort of reminds me of the movie with Reese Witherspoon called Just like Heaven. I’m not expecting the entire book to be like the movie but the incident that happens is greatly similar. I can’t help but feel horrible for this girl while reading the book. You can’t even begin to relate to her situation but it is still so horrible and heart aching. It doesn’t make me look back on my relationship with my family because it doesn’t involve them fighting and arguing all the time, but it makes you want to chaeish what you have becau...

Today we had to writers-who are married-come and speak at our school for us. They were Alice Kuipers ( Life on the Refrigerator Door ), and Yann Martel ( Life of Pi ). I unfortunately was unable to stay for the whole thing but I hear it was great! Our teacher has read both of the books I listed above that the two author’s had written. I was really interesting in reading Life on the Refrigerator Door , and so was every other girl in my class. I was, however, able to read it today. It’s a quick read book but incredibly moving! It was an amazing novel and it only took me about 40 minutes to read. It’s really quite sad because there are families out there that don’t get so see each other often and they probably communicate through notes as well. This book really pushes you to review your relationship with your family. When you think about how much time you spend with your mom or your dad or your brothers or sisters, is it enough? Are you satisfied or are you taking advantage of the chances...

I have been waiting for something bad to happen to Alice. Waiting for Ray to hurt her so bad that she needs to be taken to the emergency room. Ray does so many horrible things to Alice, but none of it is his fault. When Alice is bad, she makes him do these things that hurt her and that he claims he doesn’t want to do. He thinks all girls should be loved and taken care of, yet he still feels ok with stabbing a knife into her shoulder. Once I read farther into the book I found out that Alice was ten when she was taken by Ray and that was five years ago. So she is fifteen right now and showing Ray how much she loves him in ways that no fifteen year old girl should. She is also being shown how much she is loved in a way that nobody should ever show a fifteen year old girl. It’s a story about physical, verbal, and sexual abuse that is incredibly appalling. I have 30 pages left to go and I am determined to finish them all today. Shouldn’t be too hard since some of the pages are just a few wo...

I am now reading my second book called Living Dead Girl . It is written by Elizabeth Scott. I am about halfway through the book already and I don’t know what to think. It’s a little confusing because some chapters can be three words, three sentences, or three pages. There isn’t even the slightest bit of consistency and that seems to confuse slightly. At first I thought that it was jumping from chapter to chapter, with this girl in present day, and back to when she was younger and had been kidnapped. Later in the book I realized that it is written in present, and it’s about her life now, since she has been kidnapped. Some of the chapters and stories told are indescribably uncomforting. At times I almost don’t want to read it, yet I want to know what is going to happen to her next. I’m not sure how old his girl is but she can’t be older than fifteen. Her kidnapper seems to like his girls young. In my opinion, Ray, the kidnapper, is a very unstable man. He wants to take care of the girls ...

My last post about No Right Turn might have come off as more of a summary but I just wanted to explain what was going on and how it was different from how I thought the book was going to conclude. It was hard to really feel for this character and what he was going through because I have never experienced anything like that. It was interesting, however, to see how the character dealt with his grief and how he kept making up lie, after lie, after lie. I felt bad for him but at the same time I thought that he wasn’t disciplined enough. But I guess nobody else except for his friend new what he was doing and how good it felt to him and how “ok” he was with it.

I finished No Right Turn in one day. There was nothing really special about the story that caught my interest, I just didn’t want to stop reading until it was done. I was expecting something totally different to happen. When Jordan started taking out the ‘Vette more and more, I thought for sure that he was going to get really upset, take it out again, and crash. I thought that he would be think ing about the day his father killed himself at one moment, and then the next thing he would remember would be waking up in a hospital bed with his mother at his side and Don in the cafeteria grabbing some coffee. That is not what happened. Since Jordan was very careful when he was taking out the ‘Vette and Don never suspected anything, Jordan got a little smug. One of the kids at Jordan’s school, Adam, was bragging about his classic GTO. Jordan wants to put Adam in his place so he tells him, and all the freshman listening to Adam brag, that his ’76 Stingray would beat him any day. They end up ra...

I had a few books in mind from my list that I ABSOLUTELY wanted to check out. Not all of them were available at the time but I did manage to find 4 books that I think will be really good! The book that I choose to read first is called No Right Turn by Terry Trueman. http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0060574917.asp Here is a link that will provide you with a summary of the book. (A couple hours after we’d talked, I was in my room and he was still in his office. The shot wasn’t that loud, really, just one pop, not even as loud as a big fire cracker, but I knew instantly what it was, and I ran downstairs) That is a pretty powerful paragraph on the second page of the book. I didn’t even know how to react to the next paragraph. I would share it with you but I don’t want to give too much away. I’m almost halfway done the book and it’s only the first day! There is nothing special about it. It’s just interesting!

Hola! I am a grade 11 student and my English 20 class will be blogging about books that we are reading in class. We will be adding new posts every week! My posts will be based my thoughts on the book, new events that have occurred, and how I felt about it. My posts will also include some of my predictions. I did some research on books and made a big, long list of ones that sounded interesting to me. It’s difficult for me to find books that catch my interest and keep it. My class went to the Public Library this morning and I checked out a few books that caught my interest. I am currently reading one now that I don’t want to stop! I have a Shelfari Bookshelf on the side of my page that contains some of the books that I read that I couldn’t put down! Mistaken Identity by Don & Susie Van Ryn, and Newell, Colleen, and Whitney Cerak was a book that caught my interest SO FAST. I read it in 2 days. That is definitely a book worth reading. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23824767 - This lin...