Current Events Journal #4

I used my homework pass for this Current Event.

Reader's Journal #19- Origins (Spinward Fringe) by Randolph Lalonde

#19                          Reader’s Journal                         1/10/12 

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

This week I read the book, Origins (Spinward Fringe) by Randolph Lalonde.

The passage I decided to choose was:

“The odds weren’t in our favour.”

I chose this passage because it is the first sentence of the story and usually if the first sentence hooks you, you will enjoy the book. This first sentence really hooked me into wanting to read more. It is significant to the story because the first sentence could either grab a reader’s attention, making them want to continue reading, or it could make them consider choosing a different book.

I used many strategies before, during, and after reading this story. Before reading, made predictions on what I thought the story would be about. The cover has what looks like a galaxy on it so I predicted this book would be about space travel. I also, I read the synopsis to make sure I would enjoy reading. The synopsis was a little bit confusing but I decided to give the book a try anyways. While reading, I looked up words I didn’t know the meaning. Also while reading, I took notes on any literary elements and figurative language I found. After reading I checked back to see if the predictions I made before reading were true. Also, I looked at the notes I wrote to write my reader’s journal.

The genre of this book is fiction and the subgenre is a science fiction because it has futuristic characteristics that have the possibility to happen. The protagonist is Ronin because he is round and dynamic. The antagonists aren’t mentioned specifically but they are the people attacking Ronin and his team. The foil characters are Oz and Sunspot. They are both apart on the space team Ronin is on. They are both flat and static. The story takes place in space in the future. Since it is space there is no weather conditions. One social condition is that an enemy is attacking Ronin and his team and they need to try to escape.

The plot was very confusing because there wasn’t an exposition or rising action. The story just jumped into the climax and I wasn’t able to understand the actual setting and who exactly the characters were. I'm still on this part.

The conflict is man vs. man because Ronin and his team are against the antagonists. This type of conflict is external. The tone of this story is adventurous and my mood is confused. The theme is space attacks. I don’t know the author’s motif and there is no theme and moral because no lesson was taught. The point-of-view is third person limited because the readers only know what is seen and heard out loud and only what Ronin is thinking and feeling. The author’s purpose is to entertain readers with a futuristic story about space missions. The author’s perspective is subjective because he is not biased and does not show any personal beliefs or opinions. The pattern of organization is time order because the author explains everything that happened in order. I don’t think the pattern of organization is climatic order because the author does not have a basic plot structure.

            

           Some of the figurative language I found was tone, mood, idiom, hyperbole, and simile. The idiom is, “’Shuttle two docked and popping the cork.’“ The hyperbole is, “The explosion sounded like it was thousands of miles away, but really it was right next to us,” because it exaggerates the amount of miles. The simile I found is, “The space ship was just cleaned, it’s as white as snow, and now it can be ruined in just a second.” This sentence relates the color of the space ship with snow by using the word, “as”.

          

          (#26) I wish that the author could have explained the setting and characters a little better instead of rushing to the action.

            

            *Other response starters have been mentioned throughout my reader’s journal.

           

            So far, this book is okay. Its lacking a lot of needed details that could help the reader tremendously. I would rate this book a 7out of 10 because although I’m a little confused, the first sentence really hooked me and I’m hoping that the rest of the book can get a little better.

Sincerely,

Bailey Levy 802

Reader's Journal #18- The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe

#18                           Reader’s Journal                              1/2/12 

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

Over winter break I read the short story, The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe. I looked for short stories online and this story was one of the first one I found.

The passage I decided to choose was:

“THERE are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing, but which are too entirely horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction.”

I chose this passage because it is the first sentence of the story and usually if the first sentence hooks you, you will enjoy the book. I actually was confused by this first sentence because I didn’t know if the author was actually talking to the reader as himself or as a character, so I guess this sentence hooked me because I wanted to read more to find out. It is significant to the story because the first sentence could either grab a reader’s attention, making them want to continue reading, or it could make them consider choosing a different book.

I used many strategies before, during, and after reading this story. Before reading, I thought about the prior knowledge I knew about this author. In Language Arts we read a book by the same author so I knew he usually writes horror books about murder and death. I also made predictions on what I thought the story would be about. By knowing the author’s writing style and by reading the title, The Premature Burial, I predicted that this book would have to do with death by burying someone alive. While reading, I looked up words I didn’t know the meaning. Also while reading, I took notes on any literary elements and figurative language I identified. After reading I checked back to see if the predictions I made before reading were true. Also, I looked at the notes I wrote to write my reader’s journal.

The genre of this book is fiction and the subgenre is a horror short story because it focuses on one main conflict and one main plot, it is shorter than a regular novel, it was read in one sitting, and has elements of a horror novel. I am not sure, but I believe the protagonist is the narrator. Throughout the story he mentions names of other characters, which are the foil characters. The foil characters are Julien Bossuet, Monsieur Renelle, Mr. Edward Stapleton, a friend of the narrator, and many other unnamed characters like a doctor and an officer. There is no antagonist. There are many places where this story takes place and different weather conditions but it is all around the 19^th century. One social condition is that the narrator is crazy.

The plot was very confusing because there wasn’t an exposition or rising action. The narrator told stories about people being buried alive and how it was wonderful that they were. Then, after the narrator is finished telling other people’s stories, it jumps to the climax where he is actually planning to bury someone alive. I couldn’t identify a falling action but the resolution was that the narrator buried the person alive and was happy about it.

The conflict was man vs. man because the narrator wanted to bury a girl when she was still alive. This type of conflict is external. The tone of this story is spooky and creepy and the mood is disgusted and horrified. The theme is death and murders. The author’s motif is that he likes to write scary stories that will horrify the readers. There is no moral because no lesson was taught. The point-of-view is first person because the narrator is talking in his perspective and tells his stories using I, me, us, etc. The author’s purpose is to entertain readers with a scary short story. Since the point-of-view is first person, the author’s perspective is biased to whoever or whatever the narrator does and doesn’t like.

            

            When trying to look for figurative language I was a little confused. The writing is old English and some of the things the author says seems like figurative language but is just how people used to write, so I wasn’t able to identify any figurative language.

            

            (#44) I couldn’t believe how horrifying this story actually was.

            (Free Write) If I could change something in the book it would have to be the amount of details the author includes. It made this short story feel like a novel even though I read it in one sitting.

          

             Overall, this book was pretty boring and very disturbing. Some of the details were too detailed and the writing was confusing. I would rate this book a 4 out of 10. Wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone unless you are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe.

Sincerely,

Bailey Levy 802

Reader's Journal #17- Dumb White Husband vs. The Grocery Store (A Short Story) by Benjamin Wallace.

#17                                  Reader’s Journal                         12/25/11                 

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

           

            I started reading the humor book, Dumb White Husband vs. The Grocery Store (A Short Story) by Benjamin Wallace.

            The ONLY passage that stood out to me was:

            “A message from his wife appeared across the screen. ‘Also need milk, cat litter and dog food. <3’

‘That’s not less than three,’ he said to himself as he dropped the phone into his pocket.”

            I chose this passage it was the only thing in the whole book that was slightly funny. I was expecting to laugh more and this was the only thing that made me smile. It is significant to the story because it shows how John, the main character, is supposed to be funny and a “dumb white husband”.

            Before, during, and after reading I used many strategies. Before reading, I read the title. It seemed funny because I figured it would be making fun of middle-aged men and I thought it would be interesting to read. I also read the reviews. The majority of them were positive so I decided to read the book. While reading, I took notes on my Kindle about any new vocabulary, figurative language, or literary elements. I also made predictions. While reading the following passage made one prediction:

“He scanned the list. There were a lot of words but only four items: lemons, tomatoes, chicken breast and pasta. Good. It was short enough that he could run to the store, get back, zip through two commercial breaks and be caught up to real time sports. He set the list in the chair. ‘It’s just a couple of things. I don’t need a list.’

‘Please take the list.’

‘I don’t need the list.’”

            I predicted that there would be a whole scene at the grocery store because he forgot what was on the list. After reading, I went back to confirm my prediction; however, my prediction was incorrect because in the end, John took the grocery list. I also reviewed all my notes to write my reader’s journal.

The genre of this book is fiction. The subgenre is humor and short story because it focuses on one main plot, can be read in one sitting, and has comical characteristics. The protagonists are John and Jenny. They are both round and dynamic because they are clearly explained in the book. John is a “white, middle-aged man”.  Jenny is “still beautiful. After all of these years it was as if she had aged only a fraction compared to him. Long red hair draped over the light fabric of the gray hooded shirt that she always wore around the house.” Some foil characters are Jimmy, Sarah, and Erik. They are all flat and static because we do not know much about them. Jimmy and Sarah are John and Jenny’s children. Erik is their neighbor. There are no antagonists.

The setting isn’t clearly stated in the book. All we know is that it starts off in John’s house and then a grocery store. I am able to infer that it take place in modern times because of type of cars and technology that is mentioned. The weather conditions are not stated at all. One social condition is that John is a “dumb white husband”.

The plot of this book was really bad. There wasn’t really an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, or resolution. The book was basically just, John was watching a game on TV. His wife forces him to go to the grocery store. John goes to the grocery store. John comes home. The end. There was absolutely no plot line.

The conflict is man vs. man. John was fighting with his wife in the beginning who forced him to go to the grocery store. Also, he had a “fight” with the grocery store and the self-checkout machine. This isn’t exactly a “man” but I don’t know what type of conflict that would fall under. Man vs. man is external. The tone of this book is humorous and the mood is bored. There is no theme, moral, or motif. The point-of-view is third person limited because the narrator only knows what John is thinking and feeling. The author’s purpose is to entertain readers with a comical short story. The pattern of organization is climatic order because it tells what happens from beginning to end. The author’s perspective is objective because he does not share any personal opinions or beliefs.

          

            I was surprised to find that this book contained no figurative language

            

             To respond to this book I made connections:

-This book reminded me of my dad and how he always has trouble at the grocery store.

-Although I didn’t read the author’s other books, this book reminds me of them because they all have almost the same title. For example, “Dumb White Husband vs. Santa”.

-This book relates to the world because there are men like John in every family across the world.

            

             Overall, this book was really bad. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone! I believe it was a waste of time to read. I rate it a 3 out of 10 stars because I simply hated it. The reason it got a three is because of the ONE joke that was kind-of funny. If the author hadn’t included that, I probably would have rated this book a one.

                                                                                                                        Your Student,

                                                                                                                        Bailey Levy

Reader's Journal #16- Chosen (The Chosen #1) by Denise Grover Swank

#16                            Reader’s Journal                 12/12/11                 

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

           

            This week I continued reading the book, Chosen (The Chosen #1) by Denise Grover Swank.

            A passage that stood out to me was:

            “Although Emma was quiet, Will could tell an undercurrent of anger threatened to break loose. It amazed him how easy it was to get her to follow his lead, but he had a feeling she didn’t usually cooperate this well. The fact she felt guilty dragging him in her trouble proved she had some sort of conscience. He planned to use that to his advantage.” (KINDLE)

            I chose this passage because it hooked me. It also got me thinking a little more about one of the main characters, Will. While reading this, I realized that Will wasn’t so innocent, and that he might be planning something against Emma and Jake. It is significant to the story because it a little bit more detail on Will.

            Before, during, and after reading I used many strategies. Before reading, I noticed that the title of this book, Chosen (The Chosen #1), included a number, and predicted it was part of a series. I also made sure I remembered what I had read this far, by rereading my last reader’s journal. While reading, I took notes on my Kindle about any new vocabulary, figurative language, or literary elements. I also talked about the book with my friends, to make sure all my information was accurate and to make predictions together. After reading, I continued the book talk with my friends and we were able to confirm some predictions we had made. I also reviewed all my notes to write my reader’s journal.

The genre of this book is fantasy because it has unrealistic characters and a plot that could never happen in real life. The protagonists are Emma Thompson, Jake Thompson, and so far Will Davenport. However, I believe towards the end of the book, Will might become an antagonist because he seems suspicious. Jake is Emma’s five-year-old who can see into the future. Will is a complete stranger to both of them, but Jake claims they need him and that their lives depend on him. These characters are round because they are well described; however, they haven’t gone through any type of characterization yet. The antagonists are the “The Bad Men”, as Jake calls them, because they seem to be a threat to Emma and Jake, but it is not clearly stated why. They are round because they are clearly stated. The following passages help describe them:

“The Bad Men, as Jake called them, had found them more quickly. They used to be able to live in a place for months, but this time had only been three weeks. She tried to take comfort in the daylight, even if it was fading. The Bad Men usually came at night, but she sensed their desperation was making them bolder. She drove home as fast as possible without the risk of getting pulled over by the police. She knew from experience they couldn’t be trusted. “

“He didn’t fit the Bad Men’s usual look of jeans and black shirts…”

“The Bad Men” have not gone through characterization; therefore, they are static. The foil character is Emma’s boss at the beginning of the book. Emma and Jake must leave in a rush and this character helps the scene seem more intense. He is flat and static because he is not described well and doesn’t go through characterization.

Most of the setting isn’t clearly stated in the book. It starts off in a motel in Texas in July in which Emma and Jake live in. “Home was an aged, pay-by-the-week, roach-infested motel.” Then the main characters leave the motel and start driving; there is no exact setting, but it states that they want to go to Austin, Texas. It takes place in modern times. The weather conditions are hot and humid. One social condition is that Jake can see the future and believes Will is needed for he and his mom to survive.

The plot of this book was very good and it got to the action pretty fast. The exposition was when the author introduced the main characters and the conflict. Then, almost immediately, then book went into the rising action, where Emma and Jake decided that Will could tag along with them. It is also where their mysterious car chase takes place. I am a little confused on where I am because, in my opinion, everything in the rising action seems like it could be in the climax. When I complete the book I will be able to tell more about the plot structure.

The conflict is man vs. supernatural because the protagonists are against the antagonists and some characters are “supernatural” beings. This type of conflict is external. The tone of this book is mysterious and adventurous and the mood is curious and suspenseful. There is no theme, moral, or motif. The point-of-view is either third-person-omniscient or third-person-limited because the narrator speaks about what he can only see and hear, but knows what two character, Emma and Will, thinks and feels. The author’s purpose is to entertain readers with a mysterious and suspenseful fantasy. The pattern of organization is climatic order because it tells what happens from beginning to end. The author’s perspective is objective because he does not share any personal opinions or beliefs.

            

             Since I haven’t finished the book, I wasn’t able to identify that much figurative language. I only identified irony, a cliché, and a hyperbole.

-I found it very ironic that Will showed up just in time when Jake and Emma were leaving the hotel.

-“I’m a big girl.” This is a cliché because it is an overused expression.

-“I've told you a million times, we need him.” This is a hyperbole because it exaggerates the amount of times Jake had said this.

              (Free Response)- If I could give the author any advice, I would tell her to give more detail about the “Bad Men” because I am still confused.

            

               Overall, this book is okay. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone yet until I finish the book completely. I rate it a 6 out of 10 stars because the author still leaves the readers confused for a long time.

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                Your Student,

                                                                                                                        Bailey Levy

Current Events Journal #3

12/11/11

Bailey Levy 802

Current Events Journal #3

Title: Animal shelter's behavior experts face life and death decisions for animals

Author: John Owens

Source: The Miami Herald

Topic: The topic of this article is animal shelter’s decisions.

Main Idea (Implied/Stated): The main idea of this article is Animal shelter's behavior experts face life and death decisions for animals. It is stated because it is clearly written in the text.

Author’s Purpose: The author’s purpose for writing this article is to inform readers about how shelters make decisions about if animals should be put up for adoption or put to death based on their behavior.

Author’s Perspective: The author’s perspective in this article is subjective because the author makes the reader feel ad for the animals and puts his opinion in the article.

Pattern of Organization: The pattern of organization of the article is both cause and effect and process order.

-The reason the author chose these patterns for the article is to help the reader see the order on how the shelter decides whether or not to put the animal to sleep and the causes of why they would do so.

Text Features: The texts features included in this article are title, quotations, and a date. The title helps by giving the readers a little hint on what the article is about, the quotes help by telling readers what people think about the topic and their feelings, and the date tells the readers when this article was published.

Summary (in your own words): The article is about how pets like Yokie, must be put through a lot of tests so shelters can decide if they should be put up for adoption, or put to sleep.

Importance: The significance of this article is to teach readers that many pets aren’t always put up for adoption and that some are actually put to sleep because of their behaviors toward people and other animals.

What I Learned: What I learned from this article is that pets are sometimes put to sleep because they do not behave well with other people and animals.

What I Liked: What I liked about this article was that the author included a real pet as an example. Although it was extremely sad, I liked how the author included information about Yokie. 

What I Disliked: What I did not like about this article was that there were no pictures to help me visualize things. It would have been better to include a picture of a dog, for example, Yokie.

Recommendations: I would recommend this article to anyone thinking about adopting a pet or anyone who owns a pet.

Text-to-Self Connections: This article reminded me of the time I had to put my dog to sleep because he had a heart condition.

Text-to-Text Connections: This article reminded me of the book, Marley and Me, because in the book, Marley is put to sleep by a shelter.

Text-to-World Connections: This article reminded me of the world because this was shelters do this to animals all over the world.

Vocabulary:

Word	Context Clues	Meaning
1. Euthanized	I used context clue #1 (definition or restatement). The meaning of the word was in the sentence.	Put to sleep
2. Advocacy	I used context clue #5 (infer). The sentence states that the people at the shelter understand the stress of the animal and that they must have some sort of advocacy. I inferred that it meant motivation or support.	Motivation; support
3. Euthanasia	I used context clue #5 (infer). I knew that “euthanized” meant to put to sleep, so I inferred that euthanasia was the act of putting something to sleep or the state of something being put to sleep.	The act of putting something to sleep; the state of something being put to sleep

Reader's Journal #15- Chosen (The Chosen #1) by Denise Grover Swank

#15                                              Readers Journal                                   12/05/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            This week I started the book Chosen (The Chosen #1) by Denise Grover Swank.

            A passage that stood out to me was the very first one because it made me hooked onto the book instantly:

            “Emma bolted out the door of the rundown diner, pulling her five-year-old son behind her. She broke into a cold sweat that had nothing to do with the humid July heat.”

           

            This is significant to the story because it starts off the book and gives information about the setting and a hint about the conflict.

Before, during, and after reading I used many strategies. Before reading, I noticed that the title of this book, Chosen (The Chosen #1), included a number, and predicted it was part of a series. I also read some reviews and the synopsis to make sure I would enjoy this book. The synopsis sounded interesting and all the reviews were positive. The reviews helped me confirm my prediction that the book was part of a series. While reading, I took notes on my Kindle about any new vocabulary, figurative language, or literary elements. I also predicted what I thought what happened after reading the following passage:

“As soon as Will walked out of earshot, Emma whipped around and glared at Jake. ‘What are you doing? We can’t trust this guy!’

Jake watched her with his vast blue eyes. ‘You have to.’

‘Why? Why do we have to?’

His head leaned against the side window, watching the cars passing by. He sighed, sounding weary and despondent. ‘You need him. Our lives depend on him.’”

After reading this I predicted that Emma, the main character, would trust her five-year-old son, Jake, when he said that their lives depended on Will, and she would let him join the two on their “adventure” running away from “The Bad Men”. After reading I checked back to confirm my prediction. Emma had let Will in on their adventure; therefore, my prediction was correct. I also read all my notes and highlight I took on my Kindle to write my reader’s journal.

The genre of this book is fantasy because it has unrealistic characters and a plot that could never happen in real life. The protagonists are Emma Thompson, Jake Thompson, and, so far, Will Davenport; however, I believe towards the end of the book, Will might become an antagonist because he seems suspicious. Jake is Emma’s five-year-old who can see into the future. Will is a complete stranger to both of them, but Jake claims they need him and that their lives depend on him. These characters are round because they are well described; however, they haven’t went through any type of characterization yet. The antagonists are the “The Bad Men”, as Jake calls them, because they seem to be a threat to Emma and Jake, but it is not clearly stated why. They are round because they are clearly stated. The following passages help describe them:

“The Bad Men, as Jake called them, had found them more quickly. They used to be able to live in a place for months, but this time had only been three weeks. She tried to take comfort in the daylight, even if it was fading. The Bad Men usually came at night, but she sensed their desperation was making them bolder. She drove home as fast as possible without the risk of getting pulled over by the police. She knew from experience they couldn’t be trusted. “

“He didn’t fit the Bad Men’s usual look of jeans and  black shirts…”

“The Bad Men” have not gone through characterization; therefore, they are static. The foil character is Emma’s boss at the beginning of the book. Emma and Jake must leave in a rush and this character helps the scene seem more intense. He is flat and static because he is not described well and doesn’t go through characterization.

Most of the setting isn’t clearly stated in the book. It starts off in a motel in Texas in July in which Emma and Jake live in. “Home was an aged, pay-by-the-week, roach-infested motel.” Then the main characters leave the motel and start driving; there is no exact setting, but it states that they want to go to Austin, Texas. It takes place in modern times. The weather conditions are hot and humid. One social condition is that Jake can see the future and believes Will is needed for he and his mom to survive.

                                   

The plot of this book was very good and it got to the action pretty fast. The exposition was when the author introduced the main characters and the conflict. Then, almost immediately, then book went into the rising action, where Emma and Jake decided that Will can tag along with them. It is also where their mysterious car chase takes place. I am still on the rising action, but will keep reading to answer questions like, Why are Emma and Jake being chased by “The Bad Men” and Who is Will really?

The conflict is man vs. supernatural because the protagonists are against the antagonists and some characters are “supernatural” beings. This type of conflict is external. The tone of this book is mysterious and adventurous and the mood is curious and suspenseful. There is no theme, moral, or motif. The point-of-view is either third-person-omniscient or third-person-limited because the narrator speaks about what he can only see and hear, but knows what two character, Emma and Will, thinks and feels. The author’s purpose is to entertain readers with a mysterious and suspenseful fantasy.

I found the following figurative language while reading:

- “The boy looked like a cherub out of one of those Renaissance paintings…” is a simile comparing Jake’s appearance to the appearance of a cherub.

- “But she willed away the tears that threatened to spill.” This is personification because it gives human-like qualities to thing that do not live; tears cannot literally threaten to spill.

 

- “BOOM! She slammed her foot on the gas pedal.” This is onomatopoeia because it is a sound.

- “’Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know.’” This is a cliché because it is an overused expression.

- “Emma felt as though it would take a lifetime to get there.” This is a hyperbole because it exaggerates the about of time it would take to drive.

            (#6) I like the fact that the author doesn’t really tell you who “The Bad Men” are and what they want in the beginning of the story because it makes me interested in reading more.

            (#18) The main character, Jake, reminds me of the main character, Raven, from the show, That’s so Raven because they can both see into the future.

            So far, I like the book. Fantasy isn’t normally my favorite genre but the book isn’t that bad. I would rate it a 7 ½ out of 10 stars because, like I said, fantasy isn’t really my favorite. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy books.

Your Student,

                                                                        Bailey Levy 802