Author: John Green

Author Review

The author of the Book The Fault In Our Stars is John Green. He was born on August 24, 1977. He is a famous author and is well known for several books he has written. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the books,  Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherine's, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars. His book the Fault In Our stars is the new top hit for people to read. His books has been published in over twelve different languages so people can red them all over the world. Wow, that a lot. The funny thing is John Green started off by posting videos on YouTube that him and his brother recorded and somewhere along the road he ended up writing one of the latest hit books. He tends to write a lot of books about teenagers and their lifestyle. Mostly all of his books incorporate many different lessons that you can take away after reading his books. I am currently reading The Fault In Our Stars and I love the book and enjoy reading it and want to keep reading it to find out what is going to happen next. I would highly recommend reading at least one of his books. They are very inspiring and have an amazing story line to them. You will never read one of his books without learning a life lesson. So go ahead read one of his books I can almost guarantee you will be glad you did.

The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars

I am reading the book The Fault In Our Stars. Many things interested me into reading this book. One its one of the most popular books, so why not give it a try? I am not a big person on reading sad books but once again all my friends have told me this is a must read kind of book. It only took me a few chapters to realize the mood of this book. Sometimes the book can put you in tears and other times it can have you doubled over laughing. Never was there a dull moment. Not once has it lost my interest there is always something wanting me to read just one more page, which ends up turning into three more chapters. I can relate to this book in some ways which makes it even more entertaining to read. Hazel is the main character who is diagnosed with a terminal cancer. She is trying to live her life just like any other teenager but of course has to run into some troubles. A romantic novel would not be a romantic novel without some type of dilemma. There’s always something that puts a twist on the story in about 9 out of 10 love stories you read. She talks to a boy name Augustus and they travel on her journey together and are “dating.”

On page 29 it says, "The living room TV is yours for watching, His dad said happily. I think were actually gonna watch it in the basement. His dad laughed. Good try. Living room. But I want to show Hazel Grace the basement. Augustus said."

I am sure some younger teenagers could make a text to self-connection with this. At one point in your life you have a girl or boy over and you want to go downstairs but your parents pick a fight with you. Over the years I learned I should probably listen to my parents because they have more power than I do. Sadly. Anyways, that is what happened to Augustus when he wanted to take Hazel downstairs. This is only one of the many connections you will make throughout the book. There are MANY others.

 Another connection is text-to world. Cancer is one of the main topics in the book. This is a huge problem in our world today. Everyday people die of cancer or are diagnosed with cancer, which is what happened exactly what happened in this book. This story has a sad plot line but is also romantic at the same time, which many people enjoy to read. Being able to make connections with a book is a key thing to keeping your interest throughout reading the book. So I HIGHLY recommend to give this book a try. You wont regret it. 

Favorite Book From Last Trimester

     Favorite Book From Last Trimester

My favorite book last trimester and overall is Breaking Night. This was an AMAZING book and my all-time favorite. It has an amazing plot to it and a lesson that can be learned. It was definitely a cliff hanger and I always wanted to read more. It was a very interesting book and was the first memoir I had ever read and I learned to love it very quickly. It was about a girl who went from being homeless to getting into Harvard. If that does not catch your interest then I do not know what will.

Liz was a very brave girl and went through many challenges to end up where she is today having great success in Harvard Law School. She had to make many choices that had a big impact on her life whether it be negative or positive. Her parents were young when they got into drugs and their addiction never stopped which directed their family in a very bad direction eventually causing their family to becoming very poor. Liz made a decision on her own to get away from her bad family life and started living on the streets. This might not have been the safest option for her living on the streets and sometimes sneaking into her friend’s house but it was better than suffering with a family that took no interest in her and only themselves. One thing I loved about this book was many lessons could be taken from it and I am not a huge book reader but this book definitely kept my interest and kept me engaged and always wanting to turn the page to see what happened next.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

I started the book Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. I started this book for multiple reasons, 1. The subject changes a lot and all you read is quick little blurbs which is different and a change and 2. If you do not have a long attention span to a longer book like me this book is small little paragraphs and you do not need to follow a story line. This book is a lot shorter than most books if long book tend to not be your thing. You can skip around in the book because there is no story line that you need to be following. Each little paragraph is about something different and it is in alphabetical order so you can go to any letter in the alphabet and choose what you want to read about. Because this does not have a story line that you are following you can skip around throughout the book for example read page 1 and then read page 100 the order does not matter at all. The length of the paragraphs or blurbs range from being a sentence to a whole page it just depends what they are talking about. They can also be very funny or very serious once again depending on the topic it is discussing.
That is an example of a paragraph out of the book. This is more of a comedic one than serious. If you just want to relax and read for a few minutes and not follow a story line this book would definetely be a good book for you. I would recommend this book for anyone there is not really a certain age that this would be for. If you have time check out this book.

Divergent

 By: Veronica Roth

Theme



One of the overall themes of divergent that ties everything together is one choice could change everything. Throughout the book there is many other little themes that could also work for this book. Beatrice being the main character and dauntless being the main faction discussed in this book a theme could be to face your fears big and small. Many examples in this book lead me to this theme. Beatrice had to face many fears unknowingly. At first she did not know what she was getting herself into choosing the faction Dauntless. Day one was a huge step. Not only did Tris have to jump off a moving train, she was the first one to do it even though she was scared to death it was better to get it over with than have to wait and be full of suspense. 

 

"First jumper- "Tris!" Four sets his hand on my back and say, "welcome to Dauntless."

 

This quote shows the beginnings of Tris brave steps. Another quote that greatly helps support my theme is,

 

“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.” 

This shows what Dauntless was looking for. You didn't have to become fearless that was not what they wanted. They wanted you to face your fears and control your fears in order for you to free or break away from them so you no longer had to go against them. You had to face your fears to free from them or else they will always be your fears and you will never to get away from them. In other words they will always be haunting over you or will always be there until you face them to get rid of them.

 

Tris was brave all along she just had to find it from inside of her. Change was what she needed to show her true colors. Did Tris want to jump off the train? No. But did she do it? Yes. Did she want to fight all the fights she fought? No. But did she do it? Yes. Did she want to leave her faction? No not necessarily. But she did. All of these things show Tris and brave steps she took im order to overcome her fears both big and also small.  Some of them are a lot bigger and more severe or intense than others but they were still all her fears which are no longer her fears because she conquered them. She faced many fears she would of never thought of. All of those things she had many worries about but she still took the extra step and faced the fears not knowing what to expect as the outcome but she knew it was the only way to get rid of them.

Divergent Characterization

By: Veronica Roth

There are two main characters in the book Divergent, Tris and Tobias. Both of these characters undergo many changes throughout the book. A little bit about the characterization about Tris is she would be considered the protagonist in the book. She comes from a faction called Abnegation. This faction is based off of selflessness. When choosing day comes she decides it is time to make a change in her life.  She becomes a faction transfer and is  now part of Dauntless. Also known as the brave. In this faction you have to conquer your fears and learn skills you would of never learned other places. This is a huge change which can show you how she is a round character. Tris was part of the dauntless but she was considered divergent and had no choice but to live with that. Beatrice changes and Dauntless changes her. She is no longer selflessness she is part of Dauntless the brave that one choice she made to change factions changed her life forever and her life will never be back to the same way it was before. Not only did her faction change so did her name. Her life was changing little steps at a time.

"A new place, a new name. I can be remade here. "Tris," I say firmly."

This quote shows Beatrice making little changes and starting to become a new person and in some way refreshing her life with a new beginning.

Later on in the book Tris being "Divergent" helps shape the plot of the book.

Tobias on the other hand is more of a ruler. He is known as four because of his four fears. He is the instructor of Dauntless. He seems to be like a tyrant and has all of the power. This might be exactly what Tris is looking for which it ends up to be. They began dating and were girlfriend and boyfriend.  Tobias Carry's two opposite character traits at the same time he is very caring but at the same time can have a harsh side right beneath his caring self. It comes out to be that four is divergent just like Tris. Together they made a great impact on peoples lives and saved many peoples lives and together they were "unstoppable." I would really consider this book to anyone and you should read it to find out what happens and what Tris and Four can do together.

Divergent

By:Veronica Roth 

Analysis

I just started reading the Book Divergent by Veronica Roth. Im currently on page 50 and know a little bit about the book to make a prediction what the rest of the book will be about. There are two main characters Beatric and Tobias. I got to the part where Caleb became a fraction transfer. Beatrice is confuesd and does not know what she wants too do because she is not aloud to share her results with anyone. A quote from the book that shows the frustration Beatrice is expierienceing is,

 

"My family might be able to help me make my choice, if I could talk about my aptitude test results. But I can't."

 

 She is very nervous knowing this I have a feeling she is going to be a fraction transfer alsong side of her brother. A question I have asked myself is what it means to be "Divergent"? And how that will affect Beatrices life. Does being "Divergent" affect her in a negative or a positive way? Along side of the questions I found a text to book connection in this story. A text to text connection would be with the book Hunger Games. It has the same basic story as hunger games. Theres a few plot twists how everyone can chose how and with whom they spent their adulthood with by picking which faction they go into too and they can chose it for themselves but in hunger games your life will be chosen for you. You do not have say in it. These books are very similar to eachother butat the same time they are different.I predict that the decisions they make are going to greatly change their lives. They will not end up in the same faction and are going to go their own ways apart from their family. A text to world connection in this book would be decision making. So many different choices have to be made in this book and it is just like in life you make many different choices wethere there tempoarary or life changing. A text to self connection in this book would be when all of the fractions sit together it reminds me of all the different friend groups there is at school and how people seperate themselves from other people depending on different factors.

Beatrice getting her apittiude tests. This is when her whole life started to change.

 

I am reading the book "Divergent" by: Veronica Roth. Throughout this book many chouces have to be made. Not only are they temporary choices but they are choices that are going to affect you long term. This is a quick snippit of what the book will be about.

Theme & Summary

The Blinde Side

 

The theme of the blind side is if you are going to judge people then judge them on their character not their outward appearance. Until you get to know a person you should never judge them on their outward appearance because you do not know their background or their story. Michael Ore appeared to be a homeless young man. Which he was but he had so many great achievements in the rest of his life because of the kind family the Tuohys.

He was placed in a foster home at seven to get away from his drug addict parents and many other problems going on with his life. He was accepted as a part of the Tuohys when he was seventeen. He was shy and confused with his life. Nothing stopped him or the Tuohy family from helping him. Michael Oehr graduated with a GPA of .6 still that did not stop him from anything. He ended up getting into Ole Miss and become an all-American offensive left tackle. This shows Michael Oehrs great courage. He turned his life around with major help from the Tuohy family. Who knows where he would have been without them. They accepted him into their family and treated him as a brother and like one of their own sons. Never once did they judge him on his previous lifestyle they helped him to become successful in life and changed his life for the better in many different ways. Not only did the Tuohy family change Michael’s life, Michael was also changing their life each and every day. They were a well-rounded and wealthy family but instead of keeping the wealth to themselves they shared it with others who needed it much more than they did. This quote helps explain that, Page 68,

"God gives people money to see how they’re going to handle it."

 

The tuohy family handled their wealth in a good way. They gave it to the people who needed and put others in front of themselves. This book is an amazing story that shows many different traits for example kindness, courage, and honor. Another quote that helps you understand the background Michael came from but that he has put that in the past and moved on with his life to many greater and better things. Page 89,

"Michael’s gift is that the Good Lord gave him the ability to forget. He's mad at no one and doesn't really care what happened. His story might be sad, but he's not sad."

 

No matter where he came from or the previous things that happened in his life he still was able to become an all-American football player and get into a great college and overcome many challenging obstacles that stood in his way of success.

 

The book trailer / summary

Breaking Night-
There are three main characters in the book Breaking Night. Ma , Lisa , and Liz and the three most mentioned characters. Liz is a very round character. Lisa and Ma are more dynamic than round. Liz was a high school drop out and got into Harvard Law School. This shows how round of a character Liz is. She overcomes great change for the better.

On page 319 it says, "Terrible things had happened but were not happening now. I was no longer sleeping outside but sleeping in my bed."

This shows how Liz has overcome her bad times and moved on for the better. Ma had a great impact on her life. Ma went from being a drug addict to stopping drugs. Unfortunately she died from aids. This left Liz on her own living all by herself with very little money. Lisa lived a completely different life from Liz. She stayed in school and lived with a "step-dad" and tried to continue on normally with her life and she underwent very little change keeping a very serious personality throughout her whole book.  Liz Murray was very round and changed into a completely different person. Homeless to getting into Harvard is amazing and has not been done by any one else.

Breaking Night

By: Liz Murray

    A quick summary about the book breaking night.

Book Recommendations

    

         I am doing a review on the book Breaking Night by Liz Murray. I am not a big reader and to be honest; I do not enjoy reading but as I read this book it never lost my interest and I was always wanting to read more which is very odd for me. It is a page turner and has many cliff hangers. If I had to rate this book I would give it a 9.5 out of 10. The only bad part about this was the beginning started off a little slow but after that the book was amazing and always had my interest.

         I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of twelve because it is a kind of hard subject to wrap your head around. This book is a memoir. If memoirs are your type then you would definitely love this book. It is all about a girl who went from being homeless to Harvard so if that doesn’t grab your interest then I don’t know what will. There are parts of the book that are kind of sad and have to deal with drugs and alcohol therefore I would not recommend this book to young kids. Reading this book really opens your eyes or opened my eyes to the bad things that go on in this world that you don’t even recognize because you have life so good. This book would be a great book for females and males would also enjoy it too. It is not a lovey dovey romantic book or a violence book therefore there is not one gender that would prefer reading it over another. Whether you like to read or do not like to read i would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

I'm reading the book "The Best of Me" by Nicholas Sparks. In this book it is about a high school couple that ends up falling in love. Dawson was used to living by himself in New Orleans but never visited the city. He stayed by himself and had no family. His mom and dad were no longer his care takers and he had no interest in reuniting with his other family members. He had to leave his house and visit oriental. He planned on this being a quick trip and not staying longer than needed. The setting of this book is in New Orleans. He was encountered in a explosion and was having post traumatic stress reaction. Things in his life were a little crazy at the time and would only get crazier until he fell in love.

This video is Liz Murray explaining her book and her travels from homeless to get into Harvard.

           The theme of the book Breaking Night is never accept failure there is always time to succeed. This evolves throughout the text because Liz starts out as a high school dropout and living with friends when she could and on the streets when there was no where else to go. In the end Liz ended up getting into Harvard Law school. This didn't just happen she had to make this achievement happen. Liz never gave up and pushed through the hard times to reach the good times.

            Even though Liz lived a hard life with all the problems in her family it was her choice to drop out of school and become homeless. Because of Liz decision she had to be the one to turn things around. Liz had to shoplift to get food ask all her friends to stay the night in their houses when she could and several times she ended up sleeping on the subway. None of these things stopped Liz. She went to many interviews trying to get into different colleges. She was on Harvard's waiting list for several months and finally got accepted. The only reason she got accepted was because of scholarships. She had to get many scholarships under the circumstance of having no money. Liz made all of this happen and till today she is still living a very successful life.

This is a review about Breaking Night. It describes the changes Liz went though throughout the book. It has a great summary to give you some better understanding. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jan/30/breaking-night-liz-murray-review