An Important Quote in Prada & Prejudice

            I am still reading Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard. Callie is still stuck in 1800's England, and she has pretty much accepted that she is going to be there for a while. She is doing her best to adapt by following instructions from her friend Emily, who she just met and is staying with. On page 111, Callie thinks "Why did I think it would change? Flying thousands of miles to Europe didn't change my fate. Traveling two hundred years, it seems, didn't change it either", and I think that this is a very interesting quote. 
            First of all, I think that Callie is saying in this quote that even though she's in a whole new time period and setting, the conflicts in her life stay the same. Callie went on the trip to London with her classmates because she thought things would change for her - that she'd make friends and be included in the group. But the girls were still mean to her, and she ended up being lonely, just like at home. When Callie woke up in 1815, things didn't change either. There were still people who put her down, like Duke Alex, Emily's conceited cousin.
            I think this is an author's intrusion and that Mandy Hubbard is talking about the world in this quote. I think that she's saying that people can think that things can change for themselves if they go somewhere else. But that's not always the case. That person can't just escape their old environment, they also have to do things. I think that in Prada & Prejudice, Callie hopes that people will suddenly like her if she seems cool by wearing high heels, but she still doesn't get included in the cliques. A person's attitude and personality stay the same wherever they are, and the problems and conflicts they have stay the same too.
           In conclusion, I think that "Why did I think it would change? Flying thousands of miles to Europe didn't change my fate. Traveling two hundred years, it seems, didn't change it either" is an important quote in the book. I think that Callie, at the beginning of the book, thought that her classmates would suddenly like her if she did things that she thought they would think was cool, like wearing high heels, but that doesn't change anything, as she still is excluded. I also think this quote is an author's intrusion, and that the author is saying that people think that changing their setting and going somewhere new would suddenly solve their problems, but that doesn't always happen.         

Similarities Between Settings in Prada & Prejudice

            I am in the middle of reading Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard. It's about a girl named Callie who is on a school trip to London when she finds a pair of high-heeled bright red Prada pumps. Callie spends all of her money on them and can't wait to show them off to the other girls on the trip who exclude her, when she trips and falls down while walking in them. She then wakes up in 1815 London, and has to pretend she's a long-awaited visitor to a rich family, where she meets a girl her age named Emily and her conceited cousin, Duke Alex. Something that I thought was interesting in this book is the setting. It first takes place in London in the twenty-first century, and then Callie goes back in time into the 1800's, and even though these time periods are very different, I think that she feels insecure about herself in both centuries.

             When Callie first arrives in England, while still in the present day, she feels very left out. She has no friends on the trip and the other girls are all in cliques and don't allow her into their groups. Callie feels the need to impress some of the girls, and to show that she is more than what they think she is, and hopes that she may be invited to go out to a party with them that night. That is why she bought the expensive, very high-heeled shoes, which she ends up falling in and hurting her head drastically. I think it would have been better if Callie just acted like herself, instead of being pressured into buying and wearing something she didn't feel comfortable in, because it ended up doing more harm than good.
          
              When Callie hits her head and finds herself back in 1815, she also feels very insecure about herself and again ends up doing something that she didn't feel comfortable doing. Callie must lie and say that she is the long-time friend that Emily and her family were expecting to visit them. Callie is living a lie, pretending that she was born in the 1800's and was a girl named Rebecca. In both centuries, Callie needs to do something to be accepted by others around her. I can see why Callie has to pretend she's someone else in this time-period, where no one knows her or can help her unless she is a person they know, but I hope that when she goes back to the twenty-first century, she will realize that it's important to just be herself, and to be true to who she is.

             Callie acts the same way when she's in the modern-day and also when she time travels back to the past. Of course she's very confused and scared in 1815, but she's also very insecure and afraid to be herself, and she must pretend she's somebody else and not who she truly is. As I read more into the book, I wonder if I am going to find more similarities between Callie's actions and feelings in the 1800's and in the present-day. Another book I am curious about is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and if there are any similarities between the 1500's in Italy and America in the twenty-first century.

Protagonist's Journey in Paper Towns

            I am almost finished reading Paper Towns by John Green. Quentin is in love with his very mysterious neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman. He is currently looking for Margo, who has disappeared from her home the day after she and Quentin spent the night together vandalizing homes and getting back at the people she thinks mistreated her. Quentin, the main character, is obviously the protagonist, and we, as the reader, go on his journey. I can tell that Quentin has changed a lot from the beginning of the book to the part that I am up to now, almost at the end. 
          At the beginning of the book, Quentin was very hesitant to follow Margo's instructions on where to go and what to do on the night they hung out for the first time since they were little kids. He didn't want to commit any crimes or risk hurting his future. At first he was afraid to break into Margo's friends' houses, and he was very nervous about getting caught. But as the night went on, I could see Quentin becoming more and more obedient towards Margo. He breaks into Sea World with her, something he didn't want to do. He even breaks into his bully's room and shaves off his eyebrow. Quentin started to become more like Margo that night, very laid-back and not very careful or cautious. 
             Now Margo is missing, and Quentin really, really wants to find her. Along with his best friends Ben and Radar, he drives to an address that Margo left for him on a piece of paper. The place turns out to be an abandoned mini-mall, and even though the building is very old and creepy, they still decide to go in. If Margo hadn't taught Quentin to follow his instincts, I don't think he would have done this. He wouldn't have missed school, and he wouldn't have gone to so much trouble and hassle. Margo is kind of like Quentin's archetype and mentor. She teaches him to let loose and not care as much. I don't really think that Margo taught Quentin for the better, but either way he, as the protagonist, has been greatly affected by her. 
             In conclusion, I believe that Quentin has changed a lot from the beginning of Paper Towns to where I am now. He is less tedious, and he doesn't care as much about following the rules. I think that Margo caused this change on the night when they went on their crime-spree together, and Quentin decided to listen to her. That night, Quentin became more like Margo, willing to do whatever his heart desires, to be adventurous no matter what. I'm very curious to see if Quentin finds Margo, and how she'll react if he does. I hope that Quentin does find her, because even though I don't think she is a good influence on him, I know that she makes Quentin happy.             

Themes in Paper Towns

            I am reading the book Paper Towns by John Green. So far in the book, Quentin, the main character, has followed his neighbor, Margo, on a journey of getting back at all the people she thinks did something bad to her. Quentin drives Margo to all the places she wants to go, and accompanies her in breaking into homes and cars and vandalizing people's property. So far, I think that there are a lot of themes that are popping up in the book, and they include friendship, love, and peer pressure.
             First of all, I think that friendship is a big theme is Paper Towns. Quentin relies on his best friends Ben and Radar. They are very close and talk about everything from the prom and girlfriends to school. Also, Quentin has a kind of friendly relationship with Margo, since they are neighbors, but they were also friends since they were little children. Margo has always been the adventurous one. For example, she was very curious when they found a dead man in the park when they were nine-years-old, but Quentin has always been a little more reserved, and not as interested in those types of weird situations.
              Ever since high school, Quentin and Margo were not as close. Margo had a lot of boyfriends and friends, and was often caught up in her popularity. Quentin just hung out with his few friends on the sideline. But it sounds like he still likes Margo. After she comes into his bedroom in the middle of the night and asked him to drive her around to help her complete a list of missions with her, and he says yes, he starts to feel things for her. When Quentin is arguing with Margo about trespassing into Sea World, he doesn't hold his grudge for long and instead drives her there and sneaks in too. I can tell that Quentin still like Margo, and wants to be friends, or even more, with her.
              Also, I think that peer pressure is a big theme in Paper Towns. Quentin agrees to drive Margo around in the middle of the night even though he doesn't think it's a good idea, because he's pressured in to it. He steals his mom's car and does whatever Margo asks him to do, driving her anywhere she wants to go, including her boyfriend's and best friend's houses in all different directions, and buying her whatever she needs, including fish and shaving cream. He helps her break into some of her friends' homes, something he didn't want to do, but he still does it, risking getting in trouble. I think he does this because he wants Margo to like him, so he's being sucked into her crime-spree so he gets to spend time with her.
             In conclusion, I think that friendship, love, and peer pressure are so far big themes in Paper Towns. The themes of friendship and peer pressure seem to relate back to love, and I think Quentin has done all these things, like vandalizing people's houses, shaving off someone's eyebrow, and leaving dead fish behind for them because he wants to impress Margo and do whatever she wants him to do because he loves her. I am very curious to read on to see how Quentin and Margo's relationship grows, if it does at all.

Caitlin's Change in Mockingbird

             Yesterday I finished reading Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine, and I thought I'd do an appreciation of it. I feel that the main character, Caitlin, has really changed throughout the book, even a lot since my last blog post, where I talked about meaningful moments in it. At the beginning of the book, I think that Caitlin was ignoring dealing with her brother's death, but by the end she was able to fully accept it.
             First of all, in the beginning of the book, Caitlin was resisting feeling any emotions about her brother's death. When her school counselor asked her how she felt during the funeral, she just replied that she felt normal and was able to doze into her own little world. Caitlin doesn't feel sad or even show that she misses her brother, who was her role-model. She goes on living life like nothing happened. She uses Devon's name in the present tense, saying that "Devon says..." instead of "Devon said..." It's as if at the beginning of the book Caitlin didn't understand that her brother was truly gone. She knows that Devon was shot and killed and that he is dead, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge that she won't be able to see him again.
             As the story progresses, Caitlin starts to get very sad about her brother's death. She tries to find closure by finishing Devon's wooden chest that he was working on, but when that doesn't make her dad fully cheer up, she realizes that completing the chest will fix only some problems. No matter what, Devon is gone, and there will always be a gap that can never be filled. At the end of the book, Caitlin finally cries for her brother, that his life was cut so short and that he'd never be able to teach her anything else again. I feel that this is when Caitlin really understands that Devon is dead. She understands that finding closure is much more than finishing the chest. By the end of the book, Caitlin notices that she is a friend and role-model of Michael, a first-grader whose mother was also killed in the same school shooting as Devon. She realizes that Michael looks up to her as much as she looked up to Devon. By the end of the book, Caitlin became more mature and grown-up. 
            A main theme in Mockingbird is understanding others, and the author made it a really big idea. Since Caitlin has Asperger's, she has trouble understanding her peers and her peers have trouble understanding her. But by the end of the book, Caitlin makes an effort to relate to others and make friends. Also, the author discusses in the author's note how a school shooter might not be understood by others and not have anyone who listens to them, and that causes them to resort to violence, and that maybe these actions could be stopped if people took the time to understand each other better. It makes sense, because if everybody cared to listen to each other, and possibly understand what they're saying, everybody would have a chance to get their thoughts out in a peaceful manner. 
           In conclusion, Caitlin has changed a lot throughout the entire book. At the beginning of Mockingbird, she didn't feel anything after her brother's death. At the end of the book, she really started to miss Devon, and she also felt the need to be Michael's friend. I liked this book for a lot of reasons. It's told from the point of view of a girl with Asperger's, and a lot of books aren't told from that kind of perspective. Also, I think the theme of understanding others is important in life. This was a very interesting book, and I recommend it to other readers. 

Meaningful Moments in Mockingbird

          I am reading the book Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. It is about a girl named Caitlin who has Asperger's syndrome. She has trouble understanding emotions, feelings, and relating to others. She is also obsessed with words and reading dictionaries. Recently her brother Devon, who she admired and looked up to greatly, was shot and killed in a school shooting. After her brother's death, Caitlin and her father struggle to find closure. There are many meaningful moments in Mockingbird that make it a powerful and very interesting story.
             One of the most meaningful moments to me is when Caitlin goes inside Devon's wooden chest, which he was working on for a boy scout project before he was shot. On the day that Devon was killed, Caitlin's dad put a sheet over the unfinished chest, as if he never wanted to be reminded that Devon would never be able to finish it. One afternoon after school, Caitlin comes home and goes inside the chest and starts to remember being at the hospital and the doctors telling her dad and her that they tried to save Devon but they couldn't start his heart up again. While she's in the chest, Caitlin starts to flop her arms and legs, screaming "Dev-on, Dev-on", as if she was his heart inside his chest, and as if there was still a heartbeat inside of it. I think Caitlin was trying to keep Devon alive, as if there was hope that he would still be there for her. This was a very sad scene, because at the end Caitlin comes out of the chest to face reality that Devon is never coming back.  
              Another meaningful moment in Mockingbird is when Caitlin meets Michael, a first-grader, whose mother was killed in the same tragic school shooting as her brother. Caitlin sees Michael by himself on a bench, looking sad. She then goes to him and introduces herself and offers a gummy worm to him. After this, Michael feels happy, and gratefully accepts the candy. They both talk to each other about finding closure and become friends. I think this is good, because now Caitlin has someone to talk to and, especially, to relate to.   
             A third very meaningful and powerful moment in the book is when Caitlin and her dad start to work on Devon's unfinished chest. Caitlin thinks that this will help her and her father finally find closure. This is also the time when she and her dad start talking, working together and connecting for the first time in the book. I think the reason Caitlin wants to finish the chest is because she wants to do it for Devon. She knew how much finishing the chest and moving on to the next boy scout level meant to him, so she didn't want the project to be forgotten even though Devon was dead. Devon always made everything make sense to Caitlin, and was such a role model to her, so by completing the chest Caitlin is doing something for her brother, as if to thank him.    
              In conclusion, Mockingbird is a really good book with some heavy and deep moments that I think are very important to the storyline. The author, Kathryn Erskine, said in the Author's Note that she wrote this book after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. Now that I'm reading this book, I understand more about what a truly horrible thing it is to lose someone you love in a shooting. One day you're with them, and the next day they're gone. Caitlin is a strong character, and even though she has Asperger's, she still expresses grief and missing her brother like anybody else. 


        

Review of Alex's Blog Post About The Poisonwood Bible

Alex's Blog Post: http://alexstutt5.blogspot.com/2011/10/poisonwood-bible-appreciation-and.html      

  

            I just read Alex Stutt's blog post about The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I thought that Alex's appreciation and analysis was really well-written, and even though I never read this book I could understand what was going on. I wanted to read this book for a long time, and after reading Alex's post I want to read it even more.

    

           First of all, I think that Alex's post is really well-written. In all her blog posts she uses many details to back up each of her ideas. One thing I like is that at one point Alex relates The Poisonwood Bible to A Wrinkle In Time because she thinks that the characters of Leah and Meg are alike. I think this is interesting because she's making a text-to-text connection that goes beyond one book and one individual. Another thing I also notice in all of Alex's writing on her blog is that all her posts consist of many paragraphs that stay on the same topic, each bringing a new sub-idea that supports her main idea. In this case, each paragraph is about one character, and it all relates back to how they changed after going to Africa.

   

 

            Another thing I appreciate about Alex's post is that as the reader I understand what's going on. Like I said, each paragraph is broken up into a different character in the Price family, so it's very clear who she's writing about. Alex's introduction describes what happened in the story, when it takes place, and the relationships between all the characters, and her conclusion wraps up her whole post. Even though I didn't read The Poisonwood Bible, I know that a preacher named Nathan Price, his wife, and his four daughters go on a missionary trip to convert people in the Congo to Christianity. Alex did a great job of giving enough background information about the book's setting and characters so that I, as the blog reader, could understand what happened. 

      

           After reading Alex's post, I want to read The Poisonwood Bible. She gave a lot of information about the setting and characters, but she didn't give away too much. This book sounds very interesting, and it looks like a very suspenseful story. Alex wrote that it takes place from 1959 to 1986, which is a long time, so it seems like there's a lot that happens. I'm also very interested in history, and I like that this books takes place in the past. All the characters sound very complex. Alex wrote that "Every member of their family goes on the trip thinking that they have set out to change the Congo", and I want to see what exactly they feel at the very end of the book. Alex describes all of the characters as very different people, and I enjoy reading a book told from many different perspectives. 

  

      

           In conclusion, I think that Alex's post about The Poisinwood Bible is very well-written. Alex also uses a lot of details, so it's clear to the reader what is going on in the book. I appreciate when a blog post has background information about the characters and setting, so I know what the writer's talking about, and Alex did a good job of this. After reading Alex's post, I look forward to reading The Poisonwood Bible soon.