Q2 BLOG 3

Melinda is not a complex character; she seems very easy to understand. Because she is recovering from a disaster at a party in the summer that destroyed her social status, she is very sad and lonely. Ever since she called the police at that summer party, she has been very antisocial. She has been antisocial because she thinks all the kids hater her, which most unfortunately do. But in ninth grade when she enters high school, she receives some company by a girl named Heather. Heather talks to Melinda for two reasons. The first reason is because she also doesn’t have any friends like Melinda, but it’s because she’s new. The second reason is because she wants to fit in the school, and has to start off of somewhere. She decides to use Melinda to help her understand the school better and to figure out where she can fit in. Melinda only agrees to tolerate with Heather because she doesn’t want to show the world how lonely she is. Melinda doesn’t even bother with trying to understand Heather as a person, because even though Heather is desperately trying to find her group, she tramples on Melinda once she knows why everyone hates Melinda. Heather doesn’t want to be associated with Melinda, and like a true enemy resembling all of the rest of the kids Heather pretends she doesn’t know Melinda in front of others. Melinda understands Heather is just like all of the other kids who don’t know Melinda’s story and she thinks to herself if she will always be this lonely.

Q2 BLOG 2

I have changed my book to “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is about a girl trying to fix her reputation after what happened last summer at a party. Her reputation wasn't a bad one to the parents and teachers around her, but rather to the entire student body. She was the one who had called the cops at that party getting plenty of people arrested for various reasons I won't state.
The style that Anderson writes with is very simple and to the point. It reminds me somewhat of McCarthy but she doesn't make her sentences long. They are short. Throughout the story she hops around different classes that the main character has during the day. She changes scenes abruptly and I like that difference that a lot of other authors choose not to use. Instead other authors such as McCarthy pay much attention to minor details and make sure the story flow flawlessly.
The details Anderson gets into are not quite as concise as McCarthy, but rather the details grasp the general idea of what she is trying to tell. For example Anderson writes “Last year, our clan all dressed up as witches. We went to Ivy’s house because she and her older sister had theatrical makeup” (pg40). She utilizes this use of bland words and integrates them into comments Melinda, the main character, would make.
In my opinion I enjoy a change in the book I’m reading because after reading “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy I enjoy simple sentences sometimes using sarcasm. I enjoy it because I can relate to the narrator, which is Melinda. She is a basic teenage girl not really committed to any clique as of right now and all she wants to do is find out who she truly is.

Q2 BLOG 1

The novel I chose to read for this quarter 2 blog is called “A Million Little Pieces” written by James Frey. The book is about James Frey when he was 23 years old. By that age, he had been an alcoholic for 10 years and a crack addict for 3 years. He was forced to change his life around, because if he didn’t he would die before the age of 24. That is why later, his parents check him into a rehab center for six strenuous weeks.
James is a very confused guy struggling to be as normal as he can be even with the drugs and the alcohol. James must face the other direction when he tells his parents, “I just wanted to say thanks. For picking me up” (pg 6). He cannot look his family in the eyes, because he doesn’t give them the love and appreciation they deserve from a child. His parents flew all the way back from Tokyo, Japan to Chicago where they picked up James from the airport, to drive him up north to the cabin. He is a very lucky person considering the only reason why his parents were there is because of his roommate back from where he was, that called them in concern for James’ health. As bad as James’ condition is, he is extremely fortunate to have people around him that care and feel sorry for him; even though he doesn’t necessarily always believe that they should care for him.

BLOG 7

Moving on from last blog, Edward has decided it would be in the better interest for him and his family to move on with their lives. This meaning, they would all move away from Forks, making life for Bella seem as if he and his family never existed.
When Edward told this to Bella, she didn't take it well at all. They were in a clearing in the woods, and Bella had tried to chase after Edward as soon as he took off, after briefly explaining why they had to go.
His excuses did not convince Bella however. The first excuse was that it was time to finally leave Forks because of his family's age in the town. Carlisle couldn't keep on passing for a 33 year old, and the residents of the town thought that Rosalie and Emmet were off to college somewhere. His second reason for their sudden departure, hit Bella like a big yellow bus. He said to her that they had grown to close and she would be better off if he left now. It had already been too long of a relationship between them, and Edward couldn't allow it to go any farther.
Bella was in the state of shock when Edward kissed her on her forehead, and made her promise to be safe, and aim to stay out of trouble. She was so caught up in the moment that she ran after him as he disappeared, then just kept running. She finally laid down on the ground, but did not move for 18 hours. After 18 hours of staring and thinking of nothing, she heard voices. They were shouting her name, and they had come to bring her home to Charlie.

BLOG 6

I have written enough about Twilight, so therefore I am moving on to the book called New Moon. It is the second book in the series.Bella is celebrating her 18th birthday, but is not a big fan of parties. She has convinced Edward not to buy her something too expensive, and told Alice, Edward's sister, not to throw a big party. She is a modest person, who doesn't like to be the center of attention for two reasons. The first one being that she gets embarrassed really easily and secondly, she is naturally a very clumsy person. Therefore she is a disaster waiting to happen.
The day finally arrives, and it goes just as Bella had planned. She wasn't in the most joyous mood, but it resembled a normal day, which she enjoyed. She had her everyday routine, where Edward would pick her up in the morning, he would drive to school, and then he would walk her to class. She sat at her usual lunch table, with Edward across from her, Alice to her right, and Jessica to her left. She ate her lunch while Edward and Alice would sit watching her nibble at her food.
The day was great up until that night. Edward came to pick her up to go over to his house to celebrate. When they got there, Alice gave Bella her presents from everyone, and she started to open them. The first one was a new stereo for her car. She was delighted, knowing that now Edward would be off her back of getting a whole new car. As she reached for the card to the second gift, she got a paper cut. This was beyond horrible. In that one split second, Edward leaped in front of Bella teeth, sharp as nails hinted in the direction of Jasper, who was lunging at Bella’s red finger. Unfortunately Edward had pulled Bella to the ground after knocking over a glass vase, causing more blood to be scented into the vampire’s nostrils. As usual Carlisle had to fix the problem, by inserting five stitches into Bella’s arm. Then Edward drove Bella home.

BLOG 5

Bella and Edward have started to get more serious about their relationship, announcing they are now an official couple. Edward has met Bella's dad, but Bella has not yet officially met Edwards’s family, besides observing his graceful siblings at lunch or in the hall. As a result, one day Edward tells Bella he will be taking her out to have lunch with his family. His family is very welcoming to Bella, and tries their best to act like a normal human family should. The get together goes very well until they decide to go play some baseball.
There are some other vampires traveling through the area and they want to join in the game, but as soon as they get to the field, they smell Bella’s blood and that she is a human. He then decides Bella will be his next victim. This scares the Cullen family and they now know they have to get Bella out of the state. She travels to Phoenix Arizona, her old hometown. The Cullen family is then forced to follow her and build a plan around how to keep her safe, knowing now that the vampire after her is a tracker. Being a tracker means that he won’t give up and he lives for challenges such as this one, where he will have to fight for her blood along the way.
I found this to be not only disturbing, but also very collective. Even though Edward was the only one out of the Cullen family to truly love Bella, his family stayed by his side. It wasn’t normal for a vampire to fall in love with a human, but the Cullens were able to respect that. They even went as far as to fighting for Bella, and risking themselves to keep her safe. I think it really shows devotion and gratitude from the Cullen family. It relates to everyday life because I know if I was in crisis, my family would look out for me. I would share the same feeling of relief that Bella feels when she is endangered, but watched over by the Cullens.

BLOG 4

Bella and Edward's relationship is advanced throughout the book. They have moved on from just talking in chemistry class to talking outside of school. They recently went on their "first date". Infact it wasn't even planned, but the day played out so that it was Bella and Edward eating dinner together at a restaurant.
The day started out a normal day at school. Bella and Edward were talking everyday getting to know each other in Chemistry class. (Ha I think that is funny because it's chemistry). That day after school Bella had plans to go dress shopping with Jessica and two other girl friends. While Jessica and the two other girls tried on their dresses, Bella became disinterested and told them she would be back in a bit. She decided to walk around the town and popped into a book store. As soon as the book titles became boring, she left and just kept walking down the streets looking in the different shop windows. Little did she notice that she was lost. Luckily for her, Edward's vampire senses were to good use, because he was driving by just in time to save Bella from three older guys. The guys were chasing Bella down the street, but Edward's slick silver car stopped right next to her with the door open, welcoming her to safety. She wasn't surprised to see Edward because ever since the first day of school he had been keeping an eye on her, making sure she didn't hurt herself anymore.
After Edward picked her up, he took her out to dinner, and payed for it just as a gentlemen would. It was their first date. She had raviolli and he just sat across from her watching her contently. They knew they had a future the way they both got so excited to see or talk to each other.