Looking For Alaska CAUTION COULD SPOIL

Currently i am in the second section of Looking for Alaska. Alaska just got killed, that was a huge shock to me. Green made the emotion of the characters seem very real. I almost felt like I was a part of the story. I am wondering if the story about Alaska's death is true. Her death seemed to come on very fast. I predict there will be more to the story that Miles will later figure out. I can feel Miles anxiety since he felt he could have stopped it if he had not been drunk. I am wondering if something will happen to Miles because of the guilt and pain he is feeling. I think the point Green is trying to convey is don't take advantage of things while you have them, because in the blink of an eye it can be gone forever. I can predict that Miles will find out information about Alaska's death. I also think her death will have a lasting impact on Miles's life. I cant wait to Finnish the book and see how the story progresses.

John Green Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8EpX8UcDsk

This Interview explains John Greens journey through writing TFIOS. It explains where he got his inspiration and explained his characters. Bill Kenower the interviewer asks Green many good questions regarding the book. Green explains his writing style and why we became a writer. My favorite part of the video is when Green explained how he wrote the book after spending lots of time in a hospital. I could tell how he incorporated the real experience in the book. I also enjoy how he uses twitter! i know i follow him and he posts good information. Watch this interview or a similar one to get more information on him!

John Green TFIOS

There’s a reason The Fault In Our Stars by John Green spent 119 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. There's also a reason that even before the movie came out millions of people are planning to buy there tickets. The book appeals to any age reader and is an amazing story. 

John Green spend time in Children's hospital getting to know children with cancer before and after he wrote the book. His character Hazel fears her oncoming death will affect will ruin her parents. Green used this because that is how many of the real children he met with cancer felt. Green describes the children and teenagers with cancer as,“They’re awesome and fun to talk to and hang out with. They have an interesting perspective on adolescence. I don’t want to generalize, but lots of teenagers are funny in the way that I like to be funny. There’s a fair amount of gallows humor.” His first hand experience with the children allowed his book to truly be touching to the reader. During the time Green wrote the book he had his first child. Getting married and having children showed him the importance of a parent and child's relationship. This was definitely expressed in the book.

John Green thoughts.

http://johngreenbooks.com/page/2/

If you’re looking for a great book to read (female or male) I suggest looking into John green.

 If you’re looking for good history lesson videos I suggest looking up John Green on YouTube.

If you’re looking for something funny and relatable I recommend going on John Green's website and watching his videos.

 Lastly if you want to watch a great movie watch the Fault in Our Stars by guess who.. John Green.

     As you can tell from that list he is really just great all around. Not only is he an extremely talented and popular writer he also has much more to offer. I highly recommend going onto his website and just taking a look around. The ways he speaks and writes makes you truly engaged and want to hear more. From personal experience finding out that he is more than just a writer really made me happy. ( i screamed in the middle of history class). Also watching is videos are very entertaining! His website gives you all the information you need and is very well put together. Moral of this post is take a look into John Green and his work. And read his books!

Looking for Alaska Connections

Looking For Alaska by John Green is very relatable and modern. I have made many connections as I have been reading.

Text to Self:

 Miles, the main character has just started a new private boarding school. Immediately he makes a group of friends even being is awkward quite self.  I can relate to this because whenever I go somewhere new or try something new I always meet nice people and become friends with them.

Text to text:

Alaska is a fun loving, outgoing, rule breaking, and a mysterious girl. She reminds me of the character Layla in The Jade Notebook. Layla is wild, free and never follows any rules. She is fun and also exciting. The two characters are very similar in their actions and words.

Text to world:

 Looking For Alaska reminds me of the real world because there are many people like Alaska who have had a hard life but still manage to be happy.. Even if her decisions are not always smart. It also reminds me of the real world because people make bad choices based on the situation. Alaska makes a large amount of mistakes in the book.

Overall I am enjoying this book A LOT. The plot is just starting to get interesting and hit the climax. I recommend reading this book if you want to be able to strong relate.

Looking for Alaska writing craft

John Green has won many awards for Looking For Alaska such as:

Winner, 2006 Michael L. Printz Award
Finalist, 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2006 Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults
2006 Teens’ Top 10 Award
2006 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A Booklist Editor’s Choice Pick
Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection
Borders Original Voices Selection

I believe he won these based on how he writes. He does an amazing job of using word choice, syntax, and imagery.

   While reading looking for Alaska by John Green I have noticed patterns in his word choice and his imagery. His diction seems to start off higher level than in the same sentence become very casual. In other words he tends to enhance his sentences with good words but also casual words to make it higher level yet relatable. His characters all have a different type of word choice, some more casual than others. A good example of his diction choice is "I stared, stunned partly by the force of the voice emanating from the petite (but God, curvy) girl..." (Green 15) John starts off with a formal good word choice, but adds in the very casual detail. This allows the reader to feel intrigued by the good words but also not turned away because of lack of understanding.

   I idolize John Green because of the way he writes. I really enjoy the way he writes because of how he changes up his formal and in formal diction. I learn great new words while reading his books, but at the same time fully understand them. I also enjoy his imagery in Looking For Alaska. He is very descriptive and I can get a clear image in my head. An excellent example of his imagery is "I began picking at the cracks in the couch's leather, digging my fingers into the foamy whiteness" ( Green 13) this line gave me a vivid image of the action the character was doing. It is hard for me as a reader to understand a book that is not descirbtive or doesnt ever use casual diction. John Greens books are perfect for me as a reader and probably appeal to many others reading intrests. After only the first few pages of Looking for Alaska I honestly can say i felt like i knew the characters and was standing there next to them. The words come alive and tease your emotions. I really enjoy John Green's diction and Imagery because of the way it makes me as a reader feel. I highly recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green!

 

Mildred in F451

Mildred is the type of person that wants to live in her own small bubble world and completly be oblivious to anything that would harm her shealterd life. She rather sit at home watching tv then go outside or test any kind of limits. Although her actions may make it seem as if she was born with this dreadfuly boring personalilty, I believe the way the society controls peoples minds and desensitized  people was the main cause. As children the people learn to not care about others feeling and to follow the society's rules in order to be happy. Tv strongly influenced their behavior too. Therefor Mildred really didn't have any other choice but to be raised that way. I believe she is lonely because of Montags time consuming job. Her solution to that problem was to make the tv her "family" because it made her happy. The tv put thoughts into her head and made her the way she is. I think because Of montages job he didn't pay enough attention to her so she became lonely. He didn't fall in love with her in the first place while she had this personality so Somthing must have changed her. Mildred also seems very self centered, she doesn't really seem to care montag or anyone but herself. Although Mildred just seems like a selfish ignorant person.. I believe society is what made her that way.

Looking for Alaska predictions

  I recently started reading Looking For Alaska by John Green. Just by reading the back I can predict that it is going to be really good. I chose this book because its a realistic type of book. I am the type of reader who enjoys plot lines that are realistic and not so far fetched that I will never be able to relate. I predict that Alaska and Miles will get to know each other than experience somthing that brings them closer togther. From context clues I already know Miles has a crush on Alaska, But what will it take for her to have feelings for him? Will she ever? Alaska seemed to talk to him in a friendly way, so I can predict at least a friendship for the future.  Miles seems to be a wallflower and not too outgoing. On the other hand Alaska is exciting, friendly, and rebelious. Can those to completly different personality types ever come together? Will one change the other to be more like them? I predict Miles will follow Alaska and become similar to her. The front cover seems girly.. from that i can predict that alaska is going to be a very important part of the stroy. Since Miles is pretty anisocial and never fit into his only school, will this school let him reveal his true self? Will it let him find friends who are like him? The front of the cover gives an impression that someone dies... I predict it will be Alaska and Miles will be involved. I have enjoyed the plot lines of John Greens other books so I hope I will enjoy thsi one too. I am very excited to see what happends as I read farther into the book. So far it is great even though I am only about 25 pages in!

My opinion on John Green and TFIOS

  After reading The Fault in our Stars I began to have a slight obsession with John Green and his work. I began reading that book mainly because it was very popular and i had heard great things about it. And although i may be considered "basic" for reading it, i did not read it because everyone else is. Its popular because its written so well and kept the reader engaged. Many believe its a typical love story and you could easily predict what would happen. yes, the plot line was slightly predictable but personally i didn't fall in love with the book because of the plot line. I fell in love because of how real it made the situation seem. John Green took a typical love story and advanced it with characters that were not considered normal. How many times have you met a teenager who puts a cigarette in his mouth but never actually smokes it? And not only did he make the character be different he made the character have a great reason for doing it. I feel like people over look this book now because of how popular it got. People think its just about teenagers falling in love just like very other book. But that is NOT the case in my opinion. If it was a normal typical not interesting book, it wouldn't be so popular. It seems when things are so well known and popular it starts to get a different image . So please if you haven't read it ( go read it now) don't judge it until you have. If you are not in John Greens writing, I highly suggest watching is History YouTube videos hes also an AMAZING history teacher too!! In conclusion what you should have picked up from this blog post was read The Fault In Our Stars, and that John Green is pretty much amazing at everything in life.

Tri 3 First Blog Post

  My favorite book that I read last trimester was The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. It allowed me to feel emotions I never thought I would with reading a fiction story. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking for a good book. Warning, I did end up sheading a few tears towards the end. I fell in love with all of the characters within the first few chapters. The way John Green described the characters and situations made you feel a part of the story. He allowed the reader to make a strong connection to the characters. I enjoyed the book because of how engaged I became. I even spend most of my time on vacation reading it. It played with my emotions in a very good way. I love John Greens books because they are young adult and relatable. Hazel (the main character) showed me so many life lessons throughout the book. Even though she is a made up character, I feel as if she is a role model for me to look up to. I also enjoyed how the characters were close in age to me, so the way they acted was similar. Lastly my favorite part of the whole book was how the characters spoke. Gus in particular was only a teenager but spoke and reacted like a wise old man. He didn’t care what people thought and fought against the way things always seemed to be. The love story between Gus and Hazel in the Fault In Our Stars truly was phenomenal and therefor the best book I have read so far.

 

Independent reading: theme

Theme: There is a fine line between happiness  and despair. 

Within a short amount of time happiness can me transformed into great despair. This describes Light On Snow because it only took one night for the Dillion's lives to me completely turned for the worst. The theme is describing how One emotion can be turned to the opposite within a short amount of time. 

independent reading: book recommendations

The book Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel tells the story of Echo, a teenager who just lost her sister to an unexpected cause. Echo was lost and despressed after the loss, and her parents were not the same. Things start to look better when Echo discovers Zoe's journal. She reads everthing about her life up until the day before she died. The discovery of the journal allows Echo to know her sister as a whole new person. This book allows the audience to feel extreem emotion and feel how Echo felt. I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it.

Saving Zoe is very similar to Light on Snow because both characters are suffering from a large loss. But with an unexpected discovery their view on life changed for the better. 

Independent reading: theme continued

Central ideas:

- tough situations will occur.. But staying strong and getting past it will make you stronger than before. 

- experiencing A death of a loved one can be one if the hardest situations a person can go through 

- life can be forever changed in a blink of your eye.

-family will hold together even when everything else doesn't 

Independent reading: Links

Ohttp://www.anitashreve.com/

This is the author of my books web page. She shares her books themes, her background, her writing style, and many other fun facts about her. Anita's website features inside details about her life and writing.  A list of all of her books is on the site and I recomend taking a look at the other types of writing that she does.

I have learned that Anita mainly writes about the strong relationships between family members such as Man women, Parent child, or close friends. She reveals her characters true personalities through small details and conflicts. Most of her writing is taken place in modern day era and is relatible to most people. Anita is a great writer and shares some amazing stories with her readers. 

Independent Reading: Questions

-Was Nicky close to her mother and sister before they died? She seems to have hidden anger built up inside.

-How does Nicky feel about her new life? How did she feel about her father cutting them off from the world?

-Will the new conflict of finding the baby inhance Nicky's fathers view on life?

-Is Nicky mad that her father wont listen to what she has to say?

-Why has Charlotte decided to go and talk to Nicky and her father? Was she feeling gulity?

-Will the police officer get nicky and her father in trouble for having charlotte stay at their house?

-Why has Nicky's father not forced Charlotte out of thier house?

- Why didn't Charlotte clean up the crime scene?

- What happend to Charlottes boyfriend or the babies father?

Independent reading: links and displays

The author of my book is Anita Shreve. Her writing encourages people to not give up during hard times, and lets them know there's light at the end of the tunnel. In her stories a character faces an extremely life changing event that makes life look not worth living. In the end the character over comes the obstacle and in is a new stronger version of themselves. She teaches the reader hope can get you through a tough situation however dark it may seem. This quote shows her optimistic view on life, and how she sees a bright side to everything. 

Independent reading: theme

Theme: having hope in even the grimmest situations will lead life to the correct path.

 

The theme is shown throughout the book by comparing Nicky's hopefulness and her fathers lack there of. When Nicky's mother and baby sister die her father looses all hope in his life. Nicky on the other hand never looses hope and stays strong. The theme is portrayed through showing how Nicky's hope got them through the hard situation. It emerges in the story by explaining the tragedy, then showing how hope lead them to a better future. 

Summary: 

Nicky and her father have been suffering the loss of her mother and baby sister for the last year. Her father cut himself off from everything in his life including his job, friends, home, and city. Nicky is lost without her mother and her father is no help to the situation. Things start to take a turn for the better when Nicky and her father find an abandoned infant in the snow. The struggle to save the baby and rebuild their lives brings them closer together. Their lives turned around in less than a second the moment the found the baby. Confidence now shines through Nicky and their lives are slowing returning back to normal. 

Link to independent reading

This artical and my independent reading book Light on Snow by Anita Shreve are very similar to each other. Both families experienced the same situation of finding a infant in the woods. It completely changes the lives of the two families. In both stories the people who disoverd the babys didnt think for one minute that their late night walk would turn into such a life changing experience.

In the article it explains how a young couple was talking a walk through a forest when they heard a small crying in the distance. They thought surely they would find nothing but should look anyway. Turns out they found a 3 day old baby girl abandonded in the bushes. In the book Light on Snow, a girl and her father discoved a new born infant in the snow as they took a late night walk. Both stories have a very similar situtaion occurring. This short article explains a story of a live saving discovery of a helpless baby.
 http://www.wavy.com/news/local/newborn-girl-found-alive-in-woods

Independent reading: Reading skills

Reading skills:

In the book light on snow I have made many connections. The main character Nicky deals with an extensive amount grief which I can relate to. She is around my my age so the way she speaks and interacts is very similar to how I do. This text reminds me of the book saving Zoe by Alyson noel. In both story's a close family member dies which changes their whole lives. Also in both books something the girls each find completely change the situation. 

I predict that the infant Nicky and her father found will soon become a part of their family. The connection between the family when then found the baby was too strong to be ignored. I also predict the mother of the baby that she left to die, will explain a reason for her action of trying to murder her baby. I'm questioning weather Nicky is starting to see Charlotte ( baby's mother) as a mother or big sister figure in her life.  The way Nicky interacts with Charlotte give this impression. I know Nicky's father is not happy about having Charlotte staying with them since she did in fact  attempt to murder her baby. But somewhere inside is he curious about why she did it? And want to know the story?

 More questions:

-where did the author come up with such a story. Did she have a personal experience or hear about a similar situation?

-Will Nicky's father turn Charlotte in? Or will he listen to her story and make a different decision.

-Does baby Doris remind Nicky and her father of Nicky's baby sister who passed away?

-Will Nicky and her father get to keep the baby and raise her?

-Does charlotte have a good reason for abandoning her baby?

 

More predictions:

-Charlotte had some sort of influence such as a boyfriend that led to her abandoning the baby.

-Nicky's pain from loosing her mother made her become close to Charlotte

More connections:
- text to world: Loosing a family member commenly happends in the world. So making the plot line about this topic makes it very realteable to the world. Many people have experienced this loss, therfore the author made it relatable to the reader.
 

The swimming contest

Theme of the swimming contest:

Being the bigger person shows who truly lost.