Next Read: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Next Read: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Juliana Discher Bell 5

          The book that I am ecstatic to read next is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I have heard multiple great reviews of this book. My seventh grade language arts teacher and several people in my class have read it.

          The title picture is intriguing to me. There is an eerie black and white forest scene with the ghostly girl levitating. The font also adds a sense of mystery to the book; the way "PECULIAR CHILDREN" is written in scraggly font.

          Vintage photographs are included in this book as well. I think this adds another level of sorts to the book. It makes the story seem more realistic and as if it actually occurred. Hopefully the Mason Public Library has a copy available, or a friend has one to lend because I am ready to dive into a good book while relaxing by the pool!

Dynamic Character: Fat Boy Chronicles by Lang Buchanan

Dynamic Character: Fat Boy Chronicles by Lang Buchanan

Juliana Discher Bell 5

         The dynamic character in this novel is most definitely the main character, Jimmy. In the course of a school year, his life and persona changes entirely. Jimmy transforms from being an overweight kid with little self-confidence and few friends, to a healthy weight teenager who can stand up for himself.

         This change wasn't easy for Jimmy. He lived his whole life being obese and it was hard to break habits that he had long since formed. The realization that change was necessary came to Jimmy when he started high school and the bullying became too severe to handle. 

         With the support of his parents, Jimmy began working out with his dad and his mom gave him healthier food to eat. The weight didn't come off for a while, but once it did the pounds started slipping away. It took a great deal of work mentally and physically, but Jimmy overcame these challenges.  
            Jimmy's struggle reminds me of a struggle I faced a couple years ago. I was playing for a competitive soccer team and I wasn't getting the play time I desired. In order to reach my goal, I spent countless hours in the boiling summer sun with a personal trainer. The next season I was a starter.

         Fat Boy Chronicles is a story of hard work and dedication. This book is extremely motivating and I would recommend it to anyone whether they are struggling with obesity or not!

         

Best Thing About My Book: Fat Boy Chronicles by Lang Buchanan

Best Thing About My Book: Fat Boy Chronicles by Lang Buchanan

Juliana Discher Bell 5

         This is the tale of Jimmy, an overweight freshman in high school struggling to fit in. The story is written through a series of journal entries for his language arts teacher. Jimmy goes through constant bullying and has few friends. It's inspired by a true story. It has been adapted into a film. Click the video below to see the trailer!

         The best thing about this book is how real it is. The emotions and struggles Jimmy goes through are so real compared to what someone in his position would go feel. I enjoy reading this book because I feel empathy for this poor kid. 

         It's also cool because this book takes place in Cincinnati, Ohio which is right by where I live. It talks about Kings Island and Cincinnati sports teams so I can relate to the book very well in that sense. I would recommend reading this novel :)

Krista Ramsey Post

Krista Ramsey Post

Juliana Discher Bell 5

         Last Wednesday, April 16th, I was given the privilege to hear from a columnist who works at the Cincinnati Enquirer named Krista Ramsey.

         Ramsey spoke about her job and what she has learned from it. She told us numerous stories about columns she had written. One that I remember hearing about was a bank robbing granny. The coolest things Ramsey talked about was how much of an impact her job makes. When she writes columns about people in need, a lot of times kind civilians will actually help the person in need. It's pretty amazing how she can change people's lives,
       One question I have for her is how does she limit or add diction to her columns depending on the audience? I think it would be difficult to decide on including certain words in fear of the audience not understanding.
       Another question I have for Ramsey is how often does she include figurative language? I'm unsure of how easy it is to include it and what kinds to include.
       My final question is how long does she think the articles should be in length? I don't think they should be too long or too short.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/08/krista-our-kids-tell-the-story-of-why-preschool-is-a-must/5328181/

       In the link above, one of Krista Ramsey's article is available to read. It's about the benefits of preschool for children. 
        My favorite line from the column was "But one essential voice is missing from the discussion. It belongs to Ashlyn Bankes." I like the use of the word essential. I also like how she ends the paragraph saying it belongs to the girl.
        I noticed a trend in the writing style of Ramsey. She varies her sentence lengths and paragraph lengths. Also, she ends the column with a one-two sentence banger.  
     Overall it was a really cool experience to hear her speak! :)

Symbols: Cut by Patricia McCormick

Symbols: Cut by Patricia McCormick

Juliana Discher Bell 5

         I just started reading this book, and I'm apprehensive at the moment of whether or not I like it. Anyways, a basic synopsis is that it's about a teenage girl named Callie who is struggling with a self harm problem. She is put in a facility designed to help girls with her problem, or other issues such as anorexia.

         I think this book is important to read for me because I know self harm (aka cutting) is a serious problem that occurs in my very own high school. I feel that this book will give me more insight on what goes on in the mind's of these children, and maybe possible ideas on how I can help them.
        In my own life, I know of a girl who uses self harm. She is in my gym class and I can see the scars on her wrists occasionally. I feel sympathetic towards her, but I'm not sure if she wants to talk about the situation. She might feel ashamed. I think I will just try to be as kind as possible to her.

         I am going to analyze all of the characters in the story and connect them with a symbol that best describes them so far.

         Callie's symbol is a drop of blood to represent her problem with self harm. Callie cuts because she feels that it relieves her problems in everyday life.

         Callie's brother, Sam's symbol is a thermometer to represent how he is terminally ill. This causes a lot of stress in Callie's life because it makes the attention on Sam and puts her parents on edge.

         The symbol for Cal's mom is a wart because she is a major worry wart. Callie states that her mom has a fear of many irrational things, such as driving and big trucks.

          The symbol for Cal's dad is a shadow because at the moment we know that she has not seen him in a while. He is working constantly to try and keep up with the bills from Sam's treatment and Cal's facility.

          I think I will stick with this book because it's not very long and I think I will gain wisdom after reading.

Book Review: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Book Review: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Juliana Discher Bell 5

         I fear this review might turn into a rant, so fair warning readers. When I started this book, I enjoyed it. The author did a nice job of hooking me in. But as I read further and further, I began to notice some flaws.

         For starters, the author, Maureen Johnson, seems to enjoy over describe things. Normally I like vivid description, but Johnson was adding description like a mad woman, especially about things that didn't even need that deep of an explanation.

         A second issue was the plot dynamic. Johnson had numerous events going on at once. She had too many characters, and she felt like she had to give a story to each one. It was too much! She should have focused in on just Scarlett's story. The book wouldn't have been 350+ pages if she had. Also, the stories she created for all of her characters did not flow together. They weren't all necessary to the others.

         Another thing I thought was peculiar was the title. Scarlett Fever? That sounds extremely familiar to the disease scarlet fever, which the story had nothing to do with. Scarlett Fever doesn't even really relate to the book! It seems like the book editors were just trying to be punny. It didn't work in my opinion however.

         The last thing I'm going to criticize is the ending. It was such a cheapskate ending for her to take. It didn't leave me feeling fulfilled at all! It didn't tie any loose strings what so ever. I would have rated the book better if the ending hadn't been so lame.

         In conclusion, the only reason why I sped through this book so quickly is so I can read Divergent. I hope that won't be a disappointment as well!

Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Juliana Discher Bell 5 

         My first text-to-self connection is between the main character in my story, Scarlett, a high school girl, and myself. We have a lot of the same qualities. We both are courageous, hardworking, and determined. We both take education seriously. Also, we share the same hair color.

         A text-to-text connection is between The Hunger Games' main character, Katniss Everdeen,who is is similar to Scarlett's older sister Lola. They both are brave, around the same age, and have a deep love for their family.

         A text-to-world connection is that the struggle of finding work as an actor is a common problem that is faced, occurs in the book for Scarlett's older brother, Spencer. Spencer's problem of not finding work caused him emotional distress.



Predictions and Questions: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Predictions and Questions: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

 Juliana Discher Bell 5

        I just started this book, after a recommendation from a Half Price Book Store employee, and I think she did a good job in recommending it. I'm only on page 40, but I'm hooked. The bright purple cover and picture of a key adorned with hearts also attracted my attention right off the bat.

        So far I predict that the main character, Scarlett, will have a relationship with Max, the mysterious but intelligent brother of a girl named Chelsea she works with. I believe this because in the next chapter Scarlett is going to go to a play with Max and the author foreshadows slightly that there could be some sort of romance between the two. I also predict that along with falling for Max, Scarlett will get over her ex-boyfriend Eric. I think there will be more drama with Eric, because his character is described as a very sneaky, slimy guy. My final prediction is that Scarlett is going to have some family drama because her younger sister is recovering from cancer and her parents are struggling.

        I have a couple questions currently. My first question, is what kind of hotel does Scarlett's family work at? I believe that it is a hotel infamous for its plays, but I'm not quite sure. My other question is, does Scarlett participate in plays and is this how she met Eric? I believe these questions will be cleared up as I read further.