Compare and Contrast: The Sky Is Everywhere and Cut

     The two books that I will be comparing and contrasting are The Sky Is Everywhere and Cut. I read both books this quarter.

     The similarity I wanted to point out was how they both involve some type of conflict with a sibling. In TSIE, Lennie's sister Bailey past away. In the book, it says, "The morning of the day Bailey died, she woke me up by putting her finger in my ear. I hated when she did this. She then started trying on shirts, asking me: Which do you like better, the green or the blue? The blue. You didn't even look up Lennie. Okay, the green. Really, I don't care what shirt you wear. Then I rolled over in bed and fell back asleep. I found out later that she wore the blue, and those were the last words I ever spoke to her." This shows how Lennie had a hard time losing her. It also taught me something very important, and that is that we should all be careful about what we say, because that may be the last time we may be able to say to that person, or it could be our last day. I've learned to try to treat each day like its my last, and I like how this book makes readers realize that. 

     In Cut, Callie has a younger brother. She would self harm because she thought it was her fault for her brother becoming ill, which brings conflict in the story. In the book, it says, "It was my fault that Sam is sick." This shows how she thought it was her fault. It also made me realize something, and that is to not blame yourself for everything. I've learned to not blame myself for taking up space in the world, because we are all human and make mistakes, and we all learn from our mistakes and our past. I believe both books allowed me to realize something I've never realized before, and opened my mind to other people's ideas. 

       The difference in these books are the main conflicts of the story. In TSIE, the story is about Lennie and two boys. One makes her forget things, and one helps her through them. So, this book is mainly about romance. But, Cut was about a problem that Callie faced, which was self harm. It didn't talk about romance anywhere in the book, and it was mainly about Callie fighting to end her self harming. 

The Sky Is Everywhere

     The book I have been reading is The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I chose this book because I've heard many great things about this author and the books she has written. 

     The book begins with letting us know about the main character's problem, which is the death of her sister. In the book, it says, "The morning of the day Bailey died..." This shows her problem and allows us to get to know the character a bit better, and to understand the pain she may go through. 

    Something else the book introduces us to is another problem Lennie (the main character) has. In the book it says, "It's not just because my sister Bailey died four years ago, or because my mother hasn't contacted me in sixteen years, or even because suddenly all I think about is love." This confused me since this was almost in the beginning of the book, and I wasn't sure what it meant, or what it was trying to indicate for the future. I wonder if she she thinks love is the only option when alone. 

     I like this book so far because it involves conflict with Lennie and two boys named Joe and Toby. I like when there is conflict like this because I expect one to be together, but you never really know what could happen. I'm excited to read more of it. 

William Shakespeare: Playwright & Poet

      For ELA, we have been doing a project based on someone, and I picked William Shakespeare. I picked him since it fascinated me how he made so many poems and plays. It must have been a lot of dedication, and I wanted to find out how his life was.

       The book I picked was William Shakespeare: Playwright and Poet by Pamela Holl Nettleton. This book explained his early life and his success. Something that surprised me when I read this is that he left school because his father did not have enough money. In the book, it says, "By the time William was about 13, his father was struggling to make enough money for his family." This shows how even though life was hard, he was still dedicated to his work. This surprised me since I thought you needed a good education to be good at writing, but it showed me that as long as you are dedicated, you can succeed. 

     I also wanted to know what inspired him to write. On page 30, it says, "They read the great literary classics and studied Aesop's Fables. As an older student, William probably read classical writers such as Cicero, Virgil, and Ovid. William's love of these classics shows up years later in many of the plots of plays he wrote as an adult." This shows how he built interest in school. I liked learning about who inspired him, and I'd like to know why these writers attracted him since he wrote similar plots about them. 

We Can Make A Difference

     Today in ELA, we talked about a girl that has been raising money by selling lemonade to buy crayons for people in her brothers hospital. The main focus of the article is that we can all make a difference. 

     I think we can make a change in this world by showing what you believe to others. Something that I strongly believe in are to end gender roles. A gender role is rules that society gives to each gender, such as only boys can play sports and only girls can wear makeup. I believe gender roles should end since I want equality in this world, and how can we have equality if gender roles still exist? I can make a difference by not supporting gender roles, and to help other people's voices be heard. 

     One of my favorite quotes is by Ghandi, and it says, "Be the change you wish to see in this world." This shows me that I can't expect change if I'm not part of the change. 

Positively Beautiful

      The book I have been reading is Positvely Beautiful by Wendy Mills. I've only been reading it for a couple of days, but so far I know the main character is a sixteen year old girl named Erin. She has a best friend named Trina.

      Something else you should know about her is that her father died when she was very young, so she lived with her mother. Something that makes her life change is when she finds out her mother has breast cancer. In the book, it says, "I have cancer," she says simply. And my life cracks into before and after just like that." In my opinion, I do not like the way she let that secret out, and it should have been more mysterious. I don't know anything else, but that's what I've read so far.   

     Some predictions I have for this book is that her mother might pass away, and she will find her way to live without her. Another prediction I have is that Erin will do anything for her mother to live, or try to make the best of her life. I know I would if I was close to losing someone I love. 

Cut

     The book I have been reading is Cut by Patricia McCormick. This book is about a girl named Callie who cuts herself, and goes to place where other girls go through similar problems. The book doesn't give an explicit reason as to why she does this, but it may have been because she thought she caused trouble to her family. I came to the conclusion of this since in the book, it says, "I thought it was my fault, Sam getting sick." This shows how she thought something was her fault, so that could be the reason she started to self harm. 

     In the beginning of the book, she would not talk. She had felt like she had lost her voice since she hadn't used it in so long. I believe this book is aimed towards teenagers who may also be going through similar conflict as Callie, and the theme may be that not evrything is your fault, and to not blame yourself for existing. I also think this story is encouraging to not self harm, and to realize that you're not alone. 

     Something that I really liked about this book was that there was a character that added more conflict into the story. Her name is Amanda, and she brought in a different idea to self harming. Most of the girls in the group would self harm because they felt alone or insecure, but Amanda said she did it for pleasure and because it made her feel good. In the book, it says, "It's a high. I mean, you feel amazing. No matter how bad you felt before. It's a rush, like suddenly you're alive." I like how Amanda brought in another perspective l, and it introduces the idea of how not everyone does certain things for the same reason. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to introduce themselves to the topic of self harm, and the different perspectives of the idea. 

Character Analysis On The Future Of Us

     I have been reading The Future Of Us for a while now, and I have been loving it! It includes a lot of conflict in this story, and it makes you want to read more and more. In the book, there are two main characters named Emma and Josh. I believe Emma is the type that falls for everything. Throughout the book, Emma is the first to believe the Facebook page truly told the future. On page 43, it says "When you say 'the people who created this,' don't you get it? At some point in the future, we created it. I don't know exactly what it is, but it looks like interconnected websites where people show their photos and write about everything going on in their lives, like whether they found a parking spot or what they ate for breakfast." This is showing how she strongly believes in this website, and brings in proof for Josh to believes. I believe Emma is gullible based on this information. 

     The other character in this book is Josh, who is Emma's neighbor. They have been friends for a long time. Josh is the type who goes with what's right, and asks for someone else's decision to complete his decisions. He doesn't fall for things as quickly as Emma does. On page 80, it says, "Are you still skeptical?" Emma asks. "I'm just...I want to..." I want to be skeptical. I need to skeptical. But this rush of impossible information is almost too much." This shows how Josh doesn't want to believe it since it's impossible to create the future that's going to happen on 15 years. 

    I really like this book, and I can't wait to read more!