Semester 1 Reflection

      I have read some very good books this semester thanks to the suggestions I see on the blogs I have commented on. I really enjoyed the required summer reading book I chose which was 'Kill Me Softly' by Sarah Cross. That book took classic fairly tales, even before they were childproofed by Disney, and modernized them. I thought it was a great story line because the author melded classic fairy tales with modern teenage lives. I loved that those two very opposite types of stories could be put together to make a very interesting plot line. Another book I read was 'Looking For Alaska' by John Green. I have loved every book by John green that I've read. This book had a very unique plot line because the resolution isn't the ending you hope for, but it makes you think about life and what you have waiting for you, and what you don't. This book takes you into someones mind and makes you feel exactly what the main character is feeling, and I think that it is extraordinary. 
     I believe that my blogging skills have improved from my first blog post to my most current one. I think my writing has evolved from just writing what the book is about, to writing how I think a character feels about a situation, or how I think the writer was hoping to grasp the reader in a certain way when writing their book. I see how a character develops throughout a story, how they act in the beginning compared to how they act in the end. My blog post's sentences flow together for a whole view on a specific topic. My first few blog posts were not the best and I think that my new posts are more intriguing, I think they pull readers in so that they want to read the end of the post, not that they have to. Every post I make I include a picture of the book's cover so that if the story wasn't that interesting to  the reader they might get attracted by the artwork on the cover. 
      I have a few goals for myself to improve my blogging in the second semester. My biggest goal is to have my posts on time, I had trouble with that this semester but I think I can improve on that drastically if I work on it. I have another goal which is that I include more quotes from books so that I can show why I feel a certain way on a topic or event. I think that I have been lacking on the quotes which I hope to make up for in the second half of the year. I would also like to work on spending more time on the visual aids that go with my posts. I always have a picture of my current book, but I would like for myself to search for videos or articles that pull the reader further into my post and feel more involved.

    I have read 'Deadly Little Secret' by  Laurie Faria Stolarz. I enjoyed this book because of the mystery. This book's summary includes that there is a romantic element to this book, and usually I don't read those types of books. I was intrigued by the title, and by the fact that there was scary type of feel to it. I will admit I probably would have enjoyed this book more if it had more mystery and less romance. When I was reading this book there were few times I was surprised by the way the plot would go. It was the usual forbidden love type of ordeal laced with some mystery and conflict. Overall it was a very well constructed book with a good plot line that I appreciated. I think the little things that this book has that makes it an individual really was a key factor for it to stand out to me.

   I have just finished reading the book 'I Am Malala' by Malala Yousafzai. It was a great book and very inspirational. She is a very accomplished woman already at the age of 17. She is taught by everyone around her to only aspire to be the perfect wife and mother. Only by her family and some close friends is she told to aspire to the perfect her. That means to strive for whatever ambitions she wanted, even if people try to shoot down her ideas. Later, she finds out that people would literally shoot her down. She has been an avid supporter of women's rights for a long time. Before she was noticed by the rest of the world, she had to voice her opinion, but in a way that she could protect herself from the Taliban. After she recovered from being shot, she came back stronger and more passionate than ever before. Also now with the rest of the world watching she could make an even bigger difference for her people, and women everywhere without proper rights. 

   Malala Yousafzai is now known as a staple for women's and children's rights. She still voices her opinion even after she was shot by the Taliban. She is a strong, inspiring woman. She, at 17, has won the Nobel Peace Prize. She is the youngest person to ever win it. In her speech she explains how the award isn't only for her, but for the women and children who didn't have a voice. This link is to her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmqF9Y2Yq1U

I am currently reading 'If I stay' by Gayle Forman. I am reminded of 'The Fault in Our Stars' when I read this book. I feel like I have been let into someones life story when I read these books. I feel like I am in their head knowing what they think about things before you hear what they say about things definitely gives you insight. Hazel and Mia also have a lot of the same traits. They are both very grown up, knowing how to take in their surroundings. They were both forced into the situations they are in causing them to grow up faster than their peers. Hazel has lung and thyroid cancer, while Mia is in a coma having to make the decision to live or die. They are both strong, female protagonists. In each of their stories, Mia and Hazel find ways to come out on top, defeat their demons. The books also have similarities. The tone of each book is undeniably known by each reader right when they read the summary. The tone is realistic with ups and downs, just like life. In 'The Fault in Our Stars' Hazel's dose of the harsh real world, is having her life revolving around the fact that she has cancer. Hazel doesn't let the fact that she has cancer stop her from making her own adventures. She finds Augustus and they fall into their own real life daydream together. In 'If I Stay' Mia is in a coma fighting with herself, deciding if life is even what she wants anymore. She goes through her life, her happiest moments, and her saddest, to see what she really truly wants. Even after loosing her parents she remains strong, deciding her fate. 

   At the moment I am reading the book 'If I Stay' by Gayle Forman. I have a promise with myself that if a book I have been hearing about but haven't read yet, gets turned into a movie that I have to read the book first. It is true when people say the book is better than the movie, so why cheat myself out of half of it? In the book I am at the part where Mia is describing how she and her friend Kim became friends. I see how it will affect me, when I finish the book, seeing her life story and then she just has a choice about whether it keeps going, or if it stops dead in it's tracks. I am only in the beginning of the book, but she has a lot of things going for her. I don't understand why she would want to give up everything she has worked so hard for. I can see how she doesn't want to have to move on from her parents, but I don't think she could make her decision based on only what she has thought about in the pages I have read. The cello is a huge part of her life so I decided to try reading this book while listening to the cello. I do understand when she says "There is something so human and expressive about it." I agree, the music from the cello sounds almost human, like it has emotions. I had almost felt like I was completely surrounded by someone telling me a story.