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! 

The Future Of Us

     The book I have been reading is The Future Of Us by Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher. This book is about two teenagers named Emma and Josh. This book takes place in 1996. These two characters are neighbors and they were best friends, until Josh confessed he liked Emma, and things got awkward. On page 13, it says, "It's been six months since I've been in her house. Before that, this was like my second home. But after we all went to the opening night of Toy Story, I misread things and thought she wanted to be more that friends. She didn't." Then, she received a computer and had access to a Facebook account, but Facebook hadn't been invented yet. 

     Emma and Josh discovers things about her future. They soon realize their everyday action effect their profiles on Facebook. On page 76, it says, "Everything I did differently today sent little ripples of change into the future." This shows how the things they did in the future were not permanent. 

     This book is written by alternating characters each chapter. This way, we get to see both perspectives of story, which I like. Since this book also takes place when I wasn't born, it also gives me an idea of how life was back then. I really like this book, and I can't wait to read more of it. 

Compare & Contrast

The two books that I will be comparing and contrasting are Butter and The Future Of Us. I read both of these books in the third quarter, and I really liked both of them. Some differences are that in The Future Of Us, it is written by alternating characters each chapter. This way, we get to see both sides of the situation, which I really enjoy. Butter is written as the main character's perspective, only seeing one person's view on the book. Something else that is different is the conflict of the story. In The Future Of Us, the main conflict is how everything they do in the present effects their futures. In the book, it says, ""Everything I did differently today sent little ripples of change into the future." This is showing the changes that are made in the future. In Butter, the main conflict is how Butter seems to be different from the crowd. In the book, it says, "Hey, kid, what's your name anyway?" I stayed silent, but Jeremy stood up finally, staring down at the tears on my face, they greasy mess in my hands, and answered for me. "His name's butter." This shows how he was never acknowledged at school.  

Now, we will talk about the similarities. In both books, the topic is pretty similar. They books both revolve around the Internet, and how it impacts their life. Butter plans on a live video chat that many will view, and Emma and Josh constantly check Facebook to check how their futures are effected. These books both also take place in a school, which is where most of the conflict takes place. 

Butter

     The book I have been reading is Butter by Erin Jade Lange. This book is about an overweight boy in high school, given the nick name Butter. He received this nickname after a group of teens took him into the parking lot, and forced him to eat a stick of butter. They said that if he didn't, he would have a bad time in high school. They didn't bother asking for his real name, which symbolizes how he is ignored and forgotten at school. On page 60, it says, "Hey, kid, what's your name anyway?" I stayed silent, but Jeremy stood up finally, staring down at the tears on my face, they greasy mess in my hands, and answered for me. "His name's butter." This is showing the time when they took him into the parking lot, and they gave him his nickname. 

     He also likes a girl, named Anna, and they talk online. Anna doesn't know what he looks like, because he doesn't want to reveal himself until he feels confident in his own body. Also, he plans on "eating himself to death", which means eating so much until you die. In the book, it says, "You think I eat a lot now? That's nothing. Tune in December 31st, when I will stream a live webcast of my last meal. Death row inmates get one. Why shouldn't I? I can't take another year in this fat suit, but I can end this year with a bang. If you can stomach it, you're invited to watch...as I eat myself to death." This is showing the reason he plans on doing this, and he wants to do this because he is tired of living the way he is. After announcing this, he receives many reactions he wasn't expecting. I recommend this book!