reponse to looking for alaska

In the book Looking for Alaska, the author John Green presents us with an interesting coming of age story.  Miles, the main character, also known as "Pudge", goes to boarding school.  This isn't a drastic change for him because he doesn't really have friends. The greatest change for him is that he is making friends, friends that make him feel special.  The first friend Pudge makes is him room mate who everyone calls "Colonel".  His friendship is the Colonel opens him to a world of trouble making fun and the world of Alaska. 
Pudge has a crush on Alaska through out the book.  It's not just a crush though, he is in love with her.  She is complex and guarded.  Together the Colonel, Alaska, and their friend Takumi, teach Pudge how to be less awkward and come out of his shell.  They plan pranks and spend thanksgiving together. When Alaska dies, Pudge is left with many questions and the already much complicated Alaska Young becomes more complex.  They try to figure out whether it was a suicide or an accident. 
Although there were parts of this book that were very difficult for me to relate to it was still a very good book.  The story is both comedic and tragic.  I think depending on who you are the story means something different to you.  In the end Pudge lets go of Alaska and the questions and mysteries that came with her death.  What I got out of the book is that friendship, real friendship, is life changing.  And with death of love and death of friendship we are left with answers we are responsible to answer ourselves and not stress on the grief of the death itself.

                    
                                                         The Last Olympian
   
     The book The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan is the last sequel in the Percy Jackson & The Olympian series. In the Series Percy Jackson a demigod, son  of Poseidon goes on a series adventures in the world of Greek Mythology. In this book Percy lead his camp, Camp Half- Blood a camp full of demigod into battle with the Titan Kronos and his army. Kronos is the ruler of the Titans, and posses the body of Hermes' son Luke, a demigod. Kronos and his army want revenge on the gods and want to destroy Mount Olympus while the gods are busy fight Typhon, one of the strongest Titans. Percy and his camp travel to the Empire State Building where Mount Olympus is and guard it from Kronos' army.
   Percy and his camp were out numbered by Kronos' army. In the war in Manhattan most of the demigods were defeated. They thought they had know hope and they have failed until Hades, the god of the Underworld was convinced by his son, Nico. Hades was mad at his two brothers Zeus and Poseidon for making his stay in the world of the dead, but he was convinced that if he didn't help in the war the Gods would know longer exist so he and his wife Persephone guard Olympus with the demigods. At the end Poseidon helped and stopped Typhon and the war was over. Percy was granted one wish or he can become a god. Percy declined being a god and wished that the gods must claim their children when they are 13. Percy went back and lived with his mother and he lived his normal life again.
   This book was really good because it was full of action and drama. It was really detailed so it felt like you were actually in the war. One of my favorite part was in the battle of Manhattan where there was a lot of action. The Percy Jackson & the Olympian series is full of adventure, action, drama, comedy, and romance. You should check it out!

    In the book  Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick the main character Steven, an average student in middle school who loves to play the drums. He was never that popular and he didn't have many friends. He thought his life couldn't have been worse until he found out his little brother, Jeffrey was diagnosed with leukemia. In the adventures of Stevens life he become more mature and less self-centered.
    Something that showed Steven has matured is when he shaved his head so Jeffrey wasn't the only one bald. This showed his maturity  because he didn't think about what people would say about him being bald. He wasn't being self-centered the only thing that really mattered was that he was doing this for Jeffrey. He didn't shave his head with hesitation he shaved his head with dignity.
    Another way Steven shows his maturity was when he started to do his homework again. Steven has stopped doing his homework when he started to get depressed about Jeffrey's sickness. At first he was kind of being self-centered because he thought his life was miserable when his little brother was in a hospital with a huge needle in his back. Steven was being a horrible brother when he didn't do his homework it showed that he wasn't taking Jeffrey's sickness well and he thought he didn't need counseling. He had no one to talk to which made him more and more depressed and he started not to do homework and failing classes. When Steven started to do his homework again it showed that he wasn't living his dreams where Jeffry didn't have cancer and he started to take the fact that Jeffry needs him as an older brother do help him get better.
    Steven became a  better brother as he got more mature. He started to go with Jeffrey to the hospital and he was always there for him. He wasn't self-centered anymore and he became more optimistic and believed Jeffrey can become healthy again.

It's Kind of a Funny Story
By:Ned Vizzini

     Craig Gilner was an average kid until he was depressed. Before he was depressed he could eat, sleep, and do whatever he wanted. But since he is depressed he couldn't do anything, he couldn't even control himself. In the book It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini Craig has been Depressed and sick for a long time and he really wants to die. He has been doing drugs and drinking because he was really sick until he found the girl of his dreams.
     Craig was not really cool in school and he didn't really have a friend, but he did think that a kid named Aaron in school his best friend. They partied together, they smoked pot together, and they got drunk together, they were basically best friends until Craig got jealous. Aaron had a girlfriend whose name is Nia, a "bad ass" Chinese girl from school according to Aaron. Craig was jealous that Aaron was her boyfriend and he would be forever alone with no one and that would make him depressed. Jealousy was one of the big flaws of Craig.
    Craig goes through rough times during depression. Part 2 next week.

     Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third wheel 
     By: Jeff Kinney

     The new Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is the seventh book in the Dairy of a Wimpy Kid series. The main character Greg Heffley, a kid in junior high school go's through the challenges in middle school. In this book Greg's school is holding a Valentines Day dance in the school gym. The problem is that Greg doesn't have a date for the dance and every time a girl is available Greg screws it up. Greg and his best friend decides to have a go to the dance with one of the girls in the dance committee as group of friends just chilling at the school party but everything goes wrong.
     Greg is trying to impress Abigail, the girl from the committee by making reservations at this really fancy and expensive restaurant, that has a very strict rule that males have to wear sports jackets. Greg has dirtied his in the car and had to borrow a jacket from the restaurant. The thing is that the sports jacket that was loaned to him has been worn by others and has never been washed. The odor of sour sweat filled the restaurant so Greg had to make an excuse and leave.
    Another thing that went wrong was when Abigail and Greg were having a slow dance together on the dance floor. Greg wasn't much of a dancer so it was really awkward and he didn't know if where he put his hands. That wasn't the thing that went wrong, the thing that went wrong was that Greg noticed red marks on Abigail's chin and thought it was chicken pox, so he screamed his lungs out. The reason Greg didn't see it before was because Abigail had make up on and she washed off the make up by accident and Abigail started to cry. This whole time Greg tried to win Abigail Heart but he failed by his overreaction.
     Read the new book Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel, it's compacted with humor, romance, and much much mor! 

   

     In the book Percy Jackson : the Lighting Thief, by Rick Riordan it has a whole combination of action, romance, and thriller. Percy the main character is a demigod, half human half god. He is son of one of the three brothers Poseidon, the god of the seas. In the book Percy and his two friends Annabeth Chase, also a demigod daughter of Athena, goddess of war and wisdom and his bestfriend Grover Underwood a satyr travel in a journey to the Underworld to save Percy's mother from the god of the Underworld Hades. Throughout the book their are many symbols that are really important.
     Symbols are the important objects or things that are important to the main idea or the whole story of the book. First, there is Percy's pen which turn in to a sword. The pen/sword is important because without the pen Percy will never have been alive because that is his only weapon and also the only thing his father, Poseidon left for him. The second one is the lighting bolt, weapon of the god of the sky's and all gods and goddesses Zeus. Without that lighting bolt missing there would have been no story and no story line. The third most important one is the shield that one of the counselors from camp Half Blood gave him on the journey to be safe. The shield plays an important role because the shield was the object that had a secret compartment that held the lighting bolt that the counselor tried to frame Percy for. Obviously he didn't get away with it because Percy found out. And the fourth and last important symbol in this book is Percy's mother, Sally Jackson who was attacked by one of Hades monsters that he sent to pretend that Sally was actually dead to Percy, but Percy didn't buy it. Sally is an important symbol because if she didn't get captured by Hades then Percy wouldn't have gone to the Underworld.
     Throughout the book there are many symbols but I think that these four are the most important in this book. I am very sorry if I have spoiled some parts of the book for you.

Jason Lei

708

11/20/12

            I believe in martial arts. As a young boy I had lots of problems. Most of my problems were all family related. My grandma was frequently fighting with my sisters and my parents. When this used to happen I would hide in the closet and hope for the best of tomorrow. My therapist used to tell me everything was alright and everything is going to be fine, even though most of the time it wasn't. Martial art was there for me because it helped me to get all my anger out on the targets and to control my anger.

            I was seven when I experienced the worst thing that ever happened to me. When I was seven I and my two older sisters used to bother my grandma because we were bored. One day my grandma became so pissed at us she chased after us with a butchers knife. We hid in the closet for so long until my mom came home. It was partially our fault for bothering her but she didn't have to chase us and threaten us our lives. My mother yelled at my grandma until the neighbors called the cops. That day was the day I started to believe that I had to protect my mother and sisters and become the man in the house since my dad isn't home often.

            After two years of none stop yelling and screaming at each other I finally earned my black belt in Taekwondo and won 1rst place in the tournaments we had against the other taekwondo and karate teams. Having black belt made me feel new and I thought since I knew how to fight now that no one can ever hurt my family again, but I was wrong. Over the years after I got my black belt things got even worse. Instead of my sisters and parents yelling at each other constantly my second sister started torturing herself.

            My sister started to cut herself daily because of the rage and pain she felt, that was worse than mine. I thought and thought over again that I was the one that was hurt the most but, my sister has gone through the most. She was beat by my dad back them and ever since then she hasn't been talking to him since.

            I thought as I grew up that life was not fair and we live in the world with crazy people. Martial art has helped me go through the rage and anger I hold inside my heart. It helps me focus that because I am angry doesn't mean others have to suffer.  I believe in martial arts because it helped me go through my pain inside me, because just talking to someone doesn't always help.

 P.S. My dad no longer beats my sister, but they still don’t talk.