Summer Reading Entry #4

I choose this book because it relates to African-Americans and their lives in the bad communities and their lives. What drew my attention to this book was that it was a Coretta Scoot King Honor Award, National Book Award Finalist, Michael L. Printz Award For Excellence In Young Adult Literature, & the cover of the book & rear of the book. There were personal connections I saw between myself and the novel after reading. And they are that I too am African-American and sometimes we are just wrong by our color but not by whom we are.

I would recommend this book to those who like Drama, Crime, Mystery, Third Person perspective, and First Person perspective. The book uses a mixture of a third-person screenplay and a first-person diary format to tell, through the perspective of Steve Harmon, an African American teenager, the story of his trial for felony murder in the state of New York. Why I would recommend this to those who like Drama, Crime, Mystery, Third Person perspective, and First Person perspective is because those who are more into the genres they like tend to read more of those genres. And if you only like to read either third, second, or first person perspective only then this book is for those who like third person perspective or first person perspective or both.

Summer Reading Entry #3

"The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won't hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they'll start talking about it and soon it'll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out."

I choose this selection because I wanted to show that the beginning of the book is crucial for an author to get it right and make sure the reader is interested to read on and read more. This selection I choose is a paragraph of the beginning of the book. The beginning of a book is crucial for an author to “hook” potential readers in order for them to make sure the reader decides to read on into the book and read more. And maybe also if the book is interesting the reader may decide to read other books of the same author and the same genre of the book. If the author does not get the beginning right then most readers will not read the book and will assume that the rest of the author’s books are both boring and bad. Examples of book with great beginning are E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, The Gentle Giant Octopus by Karen Wallace, Bat at Night by Nicola Davies, Look Out Jack! The Giant is Back! by Tom Birdeye, A Storm on the Desert by Carolyn Lesser, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo, My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston, Bubba, The Cowboy Prince by Helen Ketteman, Stop That Dog! The Great Gracie Chase by Cynthia Rylant, The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin, Betsy Lewin (Illustrator).

Summer Reading Entry #2

Here are three different complexities of three different characters:

Sandra Petrocelli, the prosecutor, wants the jury to be persuaded to having Steve Harmon charged as guilty for murder. She only believes based on her opinions and the facts then tries to persuade the jury.

Kathy O’Brien, the defense attorney, wants the jury to be persuaded to not have Steve Harmon be charged and arrested for murder. Basically she tries to help and defend Steve no matter what happens in the courtroom.

James King, the thug, doesn't want to go jail but at the end of the story he is in fact charged with murder and does go to jail 25 years to life.

The themes that are beginning to appear are: in the bad sides of New York there is a lot of violence and drugs; young kids are being blamed and mistaken for all problems and mishaps; and African Americans aren't always troublemakers and cause everything bad in life.

The book is structured as a movie script because Steve Harmon loved movies ever since being in the film workshop with Mr. Sawicki at Stuyvesant High School. At the beginning of the story he decided to write the entire journey he went through in movie script form.

Summer Reading Entry #1

The book I am reading this summer is called Monster. The major characters of this book are Sandra Petrocelli, Kathy O’Brien, Asa Briggs, James King, Richard “Bobo” Evans, Osvaldo Cruz, Lorelle Henry, José Delgado, and Steve Harmon.

There are many different settings like the Courtroom, the Cell, the Detention Center, the Drugstore, Steve’s house, the Holding Room, Stuyvesant High School, Neighborhood Park, Visitor Center, and more.
There are three different conflicts in the book used many time, and they are: Text vs. Media, Text vs. Self, and Text vs. World.

The connection that I found via media was a true life story of a sixteen-year old African American young man who resides in Florida and was accused of the murder of an elderly white female tourist. The young man was accused however, the court found him NOT GUILTY as was Steve Harmon accused of murder. As the story closed, a news report is broadcasted to indicate the 'real' killer was located & charged and he looked nothing like the young man who was accused.

The connection I found to the world is that African-Americans are accused of mistakes and/or problems no matter what it is. As the Florida story above it didn't matter who was arrested as long as the killer was African-American.

And my last connection is to self where the cover of the book itself explains it’s going to be about a young African-American getting accused of murder.

Final Blog Assessment

Original Blog Post:
I have recently finished the book FANG and from my previous post's prediction on it, i am right about but there is more I didn't predict. So they do go on a trip to Africa, they meet a mysterious billionaire whose intense scrutiny of the Flock makes her fear the worst. His name is Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen. He is the scientist who created Dylan, the perfect other-half of Max. He is extremely rich, and owns many pharmaceutical companies. He tries to approach the Flock asking to meet with their leader, Max and Angel. Angel has been trying to get leadership in the flock. He introduces Dylan to them, who he calls his "protege." Later Angel makes a statement about Fang, Max's soul mate,: Fang will be the first to die. The flock was shocked and Max was infuriated about it. Max's desperate desire to protect Fang brings the two closer than ever and cause some distractions between them and the flock.

Conflicts arise between Fang and Dylan over Max. Max is kicked out of the flock by Angel, who (again) thinks she should be the leader. Max is confused and devastated, because she and Fang had just thrown a huge birthday party for all of the flock (celebrating each others their birthday). She and Fang leave and go to Las Vegas. There they are discovered by Dr. Hans once again. Meanwhile, the rest of the flock expose themselves to the media and become 'superstars'. They go to LA, where Max and Fang come back to see them. The flock then become very sick, everyone except Max and Fang. (It is later discovered that Dr. Hans had put something in the water supply at the house they lived in) Fang runs away, and is caught by Dr. Hans. Max comes to rescue him, but finds him dead. She injects him with a tube of adrenaline and brings him back to life. Total and Akila get married, after the wedding, Fang goes home early, and Max stays. She comes home later to find that Fang has run off once again, this time he asks her not to come after him.

1. What specific words/phrases demonstrate your writer's voice? How do these words/phrases showcase your personality as a writer?

Some specific phrases that help demonstrate my voice are when I wrote "(It is later discovered that Dr. Hans had put something in the water supply at the house they lived in)" because even though I don't have add the phrase I feel it is important for the reader/audience to know what is going. The contamination of the water supply and why it all happened, I think, is important to add. Another phrase would be "She injects him with a tube of adrenaline and brings him back to life." Basically reassuring he isn't dead but is conscious.

2. What purposeful diction and syntax choices did you make to enhance your writer’s voice? You must choose to discuss at least one diction and one syntax technique from the list below. Make sure to include textual evidence from your post where you included the diction and syntax choices you discuss.

Purposeful diction I use is when I say "Max is confused and devastated, because she and Fang had just thrown a huge birthday party for all of the flock (celebrating each others their birthday)." This is purposeful because I am describing what Max's feelings were during that situation and also what my feelings and the reader's as well. I used purposeful syntax at the end: "Total and Akila get married, after the wedding, Fang goes home early, and Max stays. She comes home later to find that Fang has run off once again, this time he asks her not to come after him." This is purposeful because I am leaving the reader with a cliffhanger to ensure the audience/reader will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma. And throughout the post the sentence lengths are regular or kind of lengthy but they are precious and detailed which is what a blag post needs.

Witch & Wizard Beginning

I have finished Armageddon and have chosen to read the Witch and Wizard series.

This is the story about Wisty and Whit Allgood, a sister and brother who were torn from their family in the middle of the night, slammed into prison, and accused of being a witch and a wizard. Thousands of young people have been kidnapped; some have been accused; many others remain missing. Their fate is unknown, and the worst is feared; for the ruling regime will stop at nothing to suppress life and liberty, music and books, art and magic. And the pursuit of being a normal teenager.

Finished Armageddon

The next book in the series is Armageddon. Daniel must now face an alien whose origins appear nearer to the depths of Hell than the outer reaches of the galaxy. Number Two is an unstoppable criminal that's slowly been creating an underground army of dangerous aliens to help him enslave the Earth's population. And it's all in preparation for the arrival of Number One, the most powerful alien in the universe and Daniel's arch-nemesis.

To Daniel's horror, thousands of humans defect to the alien's side, making the odds of success that much more impossible. But for the first time in his life, Daniel isn't alone in his fight. He's connected with several military and intelligence groups—including the daughter of a prominent FBI agent--and is prepared to lead the ultimate showdown against the evil that has plagued planet Earth for so long.

But the book doesn't involve with Number 1 and Daniel meeting each other personally or fighting.