The suspense is over... finally

As you can tell by my previous blogs, I have gained a certain fetish for John Green books. I have finally completed both The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska and it is safe to say, I loved them both. I especially enjoyed the suspense in Looking for Alaska.
The author begins the chapters with headings. These headings are named "100 days before..." and "76 days before..." all the way until "1 day before." This makes the reader really want to know what is happening and continue reading. The decreasing numbers of chapters also intrigues the reader to want to read more. As John Green states "100 days before," it makes you ponder about what is 100 days before.
 This adds to the suspense of the blog and makes the person wonder more. I really liked the incorporation of suspense in this novel. Actually, I like the book as a whole. I loved the characters, I loved the drama, I loved the action, and I loved the end.
I have noticed that most of John Green's books are centered around the life of a teen. Average teen. He makes the books so relatable, suspenseful and perfect so people, or teens, want to read more. And more. And more.
I have fallen into this trap of his writing. Although Looking for Alaska was a great read, I still didn't find it more intriguing than TFIOS. That will always be my favorite. Always.

Here is a video of a fan made trailer of the book.

Why Looking for Alaska?

As you can see by my last two posts, I am simply obsessed with The Fault in Our Stars. In fact, I liked the book so much that I forced my mom to sit down and read it and needless to say, she loved it and was unable to put it down.
So after I finished the novel I didn't know what to read. It was like there was an empty hole in me. Nevertheless, that happens every time I finish a great novel so that was nothing new. However I really needed to find another book to "fill" that empty hole so I did. I looked up books by John Green, and another book popped up. This book went by the name of Looking for Alaska. I bought the book and the second I opened it, I was hooked. Let's just say John Green has a way with word that really can get to a person.
So the number one reason I picked up this fantastic novel is because of the author, John Green. His writing style is fantastic, his voice is fantastic, his plots are fantastic and for all I know he may even be a fantastic person. And I was not disappointed. As I said earlier, I fell in love with the book within the first few pages.

The next reason I picked up this book is simply because people told me to. I guess it was some form of "peer pressure", but the good kind. Everyone was telling me how great the book was and I didn't want to miss out! They said it was even better than TFIOS! I obviously didn't believe that part but, I was more than enthusiastic to start this new book. Apparently the plot has the same idea with something sad happening and I guess I wanted another story that melted my heart.
The final reason was because of the synopsis on the back. The synopsis says "Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.
After. Nothing is ever the same."
The "Nothing is ever the same part" really got to me. It left me wondering "Well what isn't going to be the same?" and to answer that question I just had to read the book. So all in all, those were the reasons I was super excited to read the novel and I hope I will not be disappointed. So far so good :) If you want to see other people's comments on the novel, and the synopsis of it click here.

Dear John Green

Dear John Green,
You are simply one of the most amazing writers I have ever come across. Your writing style is one that is unmatched and your ideas are so creative. Never would I have thought to write about such a story of two cancer patients falling in love nor would I thought that that plot line would result in such a beautiful novel. But clearly I was proven wrong. I loved it.
The Fault in Our Stars, to put it simply, made me cry. Not just one tear or two, but multiple, a waterfall of tears. The imagery and description made me feel like I knew the characters personally and created a strong bond between the reader and the characters.
The relationship of Hazel and Augustus was also my favorite and the twist at the end was very unexpected. As much as the end made me cry, there is no other way I wish it would've ended. The way it came unexpectedly was the best part.
It is actually crazy how much I loved this book. It has now become one of my new favorites and I would not mind rereading it over and over and over again. And the quotes in your novel were very touching as well. For example I

loved the quotes...
1. On page 311 John Green writes “My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
2. On page 313 it is said  “You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.”  
3. On page 260 John Green writes “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”  
4. On page 311 the words “The marks humans leave are too often scars.”  appear and
5. On page 260 it is said "But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.”  
All of these quotes were very thought provoking and beautiful. They made me look back at myself, at society, at life and see what we take advantage of. These quotes were my very favorite because they made me think. This whole book made me think. Had I not of read this book, have seen these quotes, have felt the emotions the characters felt, I wouldn't have sat down and looked at how grateful I should be. These quotes helped me analyze my life, something all books should do, and especially why I loved THIS book. The last one was one of the quotes that made me overemotional because of the change in events and the way she looked at their time together in such a positive way during a negative time.
All in all this book was fantastic, lovely, amazing, perfect and great and I am so happy I picked it up. I couldn't even put it down for a while and I loved it way too much. So thanks for bringing such a perfect novel into the world for everyone to enjoy. I know I enjoyed it.
Here are a bunch of people's letters to respond to your fascinating novel.
Sincerely,
Sneha Gundavarpu

Krista Ramsey

Wow. The writer, the writing, everything was so relatable and touching. The column I read was about a young girl, Tyann Adkins, who was murdered, brutally. Just a regular school girl killed in the middle of the day. Very sad.  You can access the link to the column here.

"A niece was going to do Tyann's hair, she said. She'd be buried with a pearl necklace. And someone would do her nails." (Ramsey)
I really liked this quote because it tied the whole article together. In the beginning she described Tyann as a girl who liked getting her hair and her nails done as well as was always seen with a pearl necklace. I loved how in the end it tied the beginning to the end,  giving us a clear picture and a sense of closure. It helped us, as the reader, imagine and connect with Tyann, as she was a teenager like us. The sentences were short and down to the point so they were emphasized. The diction was low and casual so there wasn't much thinking, just straight and down to the point. It was also connotation because all of these items had an emotional value to Tyann and her family. Finally you see a repeated use of hair, nails, and pearl necklace throughout the column which were things that personified Tyann and made her different as a person.

Ramsey's style is always to have low and casual diction. She also tend to summarize/ connect the beginning and the end all in the last sentence of the column. She makes to posts relatable and allow to readers to connect with what she's writing as well as raises their awareness about something. Her writing is very blunt and down to the point. I said earlier about the quote I liked in Tyann's article (it was the very last sentence). Relating to that I also liked the end of "Super Bowl QBs score points for Great Style" where she said "Whatever the score in the game, they'll both look like winners." This really summarized the column which is what I fell like Ms.Ramsey tends to do with her last sentences, to conclude the whole column and wrap it up.

If I could ask Krista Ramsey 3 things they would be...
1. When did you decide that you wanted to be a professional writer?
2. How do you come up with your ideas?
3. What normally inspires you the most, and how do you get rid of writers block?

That's all. Thanks for reading :)

The Fault in Our Stars

Okay okay I know I'm reading this book super late.
Yeah yeah I understand that everyone read it a year ago and that I'm the only person in the world who hasn't read it.
But in reality, I'm so glad I picked up this book because it's better late than never.
I've gotten to about the first 50 pages. Let's just say the first 5 pages were good enough to get me hooked. So for this post I'm simply going to introduce the characters, at least the ones I've been introduced to so far.

Hazel: Hazel is a nice girl. Although depressed and sarcastic, she has a heart of gold. The story is told in her point of view. She is also highly intelligent and loves to read. She doesn't think too much of herself and believes she is unattractive. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was young and had a miracle recovery, though is yet to fully recover.

Augustus: Just introduced in the story, Gus attends the same support group as Hazel. Described as very attractive, he catches Hazels eye and he is also smitten with Hazel. Also had cancer and as a result has a prosthetic leg.

Mom: Hazels mom is very supportive and is the reason Hazel joined the support group.

Isaac: Augustus's friend who introduced him to the cancer support group and is almost blind, due to cancer. Also dislikes the support group.

So these are the main characters I was introduced to. I'm already in love with this book and encourage you to read it :)

Book Thief

Wow.
This book simply leaves me speechless.
It's written so creatively and there is so much emotion it's almost magical.
I can say for sure though that I was not too pleased with the ending even though it was extremely well written.
Basically this book is about a young girl who is sent away to a foster home in Nazi Germany. Told in the perspective of death, this book takes us through the life of this girl. It shows us her ups and downs, from harboring a Jew to stealing books to secretly learning how to read. This book is an eye opener, something that simply proves to us how lucky we really are.
I loved this book for many reasons.
1. I loved the way the book was told. The fact that it was told in the point of view of death gave it a unique flair.
2. The story was different. It's a simple as that. The story line was amazing with different twists and turns at every corner. Things that you would never expect happen.
3. I loved the main character. I loved her innocence and her drive and I really felt as though I could connect to her.

Overall I really loved this book and I recommend it to everyone!

Hello English 1B

Well guys, it's been a whole trimester since I've done a blog so let's hope this goes well. I'm going to write a new blog on a book I just read. Well obviously since this is what the blog is for. Anyway I'm going to start by introducing the book...

The Color of Water
By James McBride

I haven't gotten too far into the book but so far it is absolutely perfect. It's extremely inspirational and very eyeopening.  Basically this is a story about an African American person raised in an African American society. He belongs to a large family and doesn't have a father. However, unlike his peers, there's something strange in his family. His mother is not African american, a sight unseen in this part of town. To start I'd like reiterate the large amount of stereotypes in place during this time period. This whole book is a recap of the memories of the mother, which had been locked away for too long, and his life with his mother. I'm truly enjoying this book and being introduced to these characters. The book looks like it will take a turn for the worse so I fear that one of his siblings or his mother will die :( However it seems thrououghly fascinating so I cannot wait to keep reading!