12/19, Post B

Dear Ruby,
I think it’s exciting that Olivia has a new crush, Gervais. He is one talented boy and Olivia is pretty special to. I think they would be a good couple together, but too bad he is way too young for her. Maybe in a few years or so don’t you think? You may not like him that much but I think he could really help you with your calculus. It’s worth a try. I would say so. Helping Nate with his cupcakes was very nice of you I thought. He is a nice boy and I think you guys have totally have a future together. Thanksgiving must have been a little overwhelming for you I’m sure. But at the same time it must have been nice having all this family you never knew of. Jamie’s family seems like a nice family. Maybe that’s what you could describe family as. Being able to tell them anything, always there for you when you need help. Family is a good thing to have and I’m glad to say again that you stayed with Cora and Jamie. They should be described as family. They are the perfect things for you. The situation with Nate must be very scary. Now you have found out Nate’s secret. What else has he been hiding from you? I think you should do something about his father because that isn’t healthy for him or anyone. I hope you follow through with that thought because it could end up bad.

12/19, Post A

Vocabulary:
anti-retentive(255): having the power, property, or capacity of retaining(opposite)
outsourcing(261): to procure (as some goods or services needed by a business or organization) under contract with an outside supplier

Theme:
One emerging theme of the book is family.

summary 12/19

Olivia has a secret admirer that goes to see movies alot(she works at a movie theater). She is relizing that her and nate are acutally friends. She is afraid that she is going to fail calculus. She is thinking about getting Gervais to help her. She is going to help Nate deliver cupcakes for his work and lots of other arrons. She got scratched by a cat because she didn't read the sign. Olivia thinks something is going on between her and Nate. so does the whole school. Jamies whole family was coming over to their house for thanksgiving. She felt overwelmed with all the people and knowing that they were her family. She had to go over to Nates house to put the pies in their oven because they already had to much stuff in theirs.Nates busy with work.

12/12 Post B

Dear Ruby,

I am so happy for you! You have gotten so much better since the first day you moved in with your sister and brother-in-law. If something like that happened to me I would be a wreck. I don’t think I could have survived life after having my mother leave me. I would be wondering where she was twenty- four seven. I would not feel safe at all and I could not trust anyone. I don’t think I could even make new friends, having the fear of losing another one. Taking a Christmas card with matching shirts will be fun! I think that means you feel more like family with them. When you found out about your mother did u believe her first? I would have been very angry with her and also with my sister for telling me this information. I would also have been really sad about the whole situation again. So much is happening all at once, I wouldn’t know how to handle it at all. I thought it was a good idea to get away from school for a little bit but the drinking and smoking was unnecessary. If Nate hadn’t found you lying there I don’t think anyone would have. I'm glad he has your back. He seems like a very nice boy but it also seems like he is hiding something from you and other people. Why would he quit the swim team? He loved swimming! Make sure you don’t lose this one, he is a real keeper/

12/12 Post A

Vocabulary:
imperceptibly p.253: not perceptible by a sense or by the mind : extremely slight, gradual, or subtle
reciprocate p.246: to give and take mutually

Theme:
One emerging theme of this book is she is starting to learn family values. She is starting to understand the meaning of the word.

Summary 12/12

Ruby just told Harriet that Reggie liked her. But shes always too busy for work. They want to take a Christmas card with matching shirts. Olivia's boyfriend was cheating on her with Melissa. Nate has quit swimming. Another party at her house. 70's night. for UMe (a website Jamies works for). She also just found out that Jamie's family is really big. Cora's still trying to get pregnant. She just found out that her mother kept Ruby away from Cora. not inviting her to her wedding. ect. She asked Olivia for a ride during school. She went somewhere near her school. She had been drinking with her old friends and smoking. She went unconscious and Nate found her. Jamie was pissed at her and got really upset. people liked her key necklaces and she started selling them with Harriet. Jamie and her made up.

DEBATE!!

-Political: These debates occur all over the place. The purpose of these debates is to see the opinion of that person and how he/she would do to fix it. It sometimes can help arrive at a better decision because they get many ideas on how to solve it.This debate is structured.
-Environmental: These debates occur in National state and Local. The purpose of these debates is to find better ways to protect the way we live in. Yes it does help arrive at a better decision. The debate is structure.
-Education: These debates occur in all states and cities. The purpose of these debates is to figure out better ways for our students to learn and to educate all students. "No child left behind".Yes it does help arrive at a better decision. The debate is structured.
-Social Structures: These debates occur all over the world. The purpose of these debates is to talk about how to help people in need, poverty, and money all together. Yes it does help arrive at a better decision. The debate is structured.

Post B, 12/5

Dear Ruby,
Well i defanitly think this section went better than planed. Have you ever thought about what might have happened if you actually ran away that day. Never would have meet Nate, or Oliva or anyone. They all seem very nice at this point and I think Nate has a little thing for you so you better watch out! I think you did a very responsible thing to do by getting a job. I think it means for you that you think you are going to be staying for a while, well longer than planed. Having a job will keep you busy, your mind not having enough time to travel to the bad memories that may have happened in the past. I think its exciting that your best friend came to see you. I could tell that you were very suprised but deep down i knew you appreciated it alot! To me, family means people who you love and share everything with. You do most things in your life with them and all you need is family and love to survive. For Cora, i think thats great that shes trying to have a baby. She wants another family to start with Jamie. College i think for you would be a great idea. Having college in your future can expand what you want to do with your life latter on even if you dont want to do anything big like Jamie or Cora.

Post A, 12/5

Vocabulary:
Beacon(p.138): a source of light or inspiration
Impromptu(p.148): a musical composition suggesting improvisation

Quote:(p.182) "Lets just see if it survives first". Jamie was asking what she wanted to name her fish and she said lets just see if it survives first. To me, that means that it shouldn't have a place in your heart if it doesn't survive, or succed in life.

Summary, 12/5

Went to Marshalls instead of mall. Cora made her go shopping with her when she found out she had bought nothing. Very expensive clothes. Ruby got a job with one of Nates employes, Harriet. She was very intense and very hyper with coffee all the time. There was a party at her house later that night when she came home. She heard Cora and her friends talking about her wanting a baby. She wasn't getting along well with Gervais. She had a project on FAMILY to do and had to ask many people what FAMILY meant to them. Jamie started to talk to her about college. Ruby got a fish so she could have one in the pond. It was white. She made friends with Nate's old girlfriend, Heather. Peyton came to visite her at her sisters house. She was very suprised.

Post B, 11/28

Dear Ruby,
If all this stuff happened to me i wouldn't know what to do! It must be so hard, starting a new school and trying to make new friends while you at it. And to add having to live with your sister whom you havn't seen for over than 10 years. Memories rushing back to you from the past when everything was good. When your father was living with you and everyone was happy. I would be greatly appreciated from Cora and her husband. Taking you in like that, even when so much of their daily lives changed just because. I hope they know you appreciate them very much because without much love, i wouldn't think it would work out. First of all, i have never started in a new school with none of my friends there and i don't know what it would be like but it sounds like not much fun. Im glad you are starting to make friends with Oliva. She seems like a nice girl who has much in common as you. And Nate! he is one in a million kind of friend. He is gorgeous, nice, and there when you need him, even if you don't think so. Personally, if my sister gave me money to go shopping i would be out in less than a second, but why not you? every girl dreams of having all the money in the world to spend it on clothes, but not you? I hope that someday that girl is you because there is nothing wrong with taking money that has been given to you. Ah! your friends must be missing you. Im glad that you still keep in touch. They sounds like nice people and i hope all goes well with Marshall. Going back to your old house with Nate must have been a little wierd but maybe also a little nice because you know that your life is not like that anymore. Having him there makes you more confident. I have a feeling you will be making lots more friends where that came from.

Post A, 11/28

2 Vocabulary Words:
infamous: having a reputation of the worst kind
insolent: exhibiting boldness or effrontery

Theme:
One emerging theme throught this book is trust.

Summary, 11/28

Ruby has had her first day at school and not liking it. She decided to go and call her friends from her old school. Her "boyfriend" Marshall and her best friend Peyton. She missed talking to them. She called Peyton for a ride home but she couldn't, she was busy. All of a sudden she saw Nate. They went to her old house so she could pick up a few things. They did a few things for Nate as well , Arrons. She didn't want a ride to school from Nate but woke up late so she had to. Gervais who is very young, around 12, was also in the car. He thought Ruby was Nate's girlfriend. Nate's old one, Heather, use to ride with them. Cora gave her money to buy some clothes at the mall. Sortof has a new friend named Oliva.

Post B, 11/21

Dear Ruby,
You have been very brave lately. With everything going on in your life. I don't know i could have done what you are doing right now. Starting a new school, making new friends. Well not really making, but lots of effort than before. And that Nate boy! Sounds like you have found yourself a new boy. Too bad you already have Marshall. How could you want to live alone like that? Not much food, lighting, and laundry. Living like that sounds like lots of working. And adding school and work on top to that sounds like a very hard time. But you pulled threw. Were you glad that the Honeycutts came and found you? I would very much enjoy living with family again. That must be nice. Cora and Jamie are very nice, you are very lucky. Do you want things to happen with you and Nate ? He sounds like nice boy. Maybe he has a different backround like you do ? He could connect with you in many different ways you never thought. What do you think about your mother ? Do u miss her ? I would. I don’t think i could live alone without her. I really hope things get better at home. No more running away now ! Your sister and husband seem like the perfect family. I would feel so loved. I also hope you make some friends. Maybe that Oliva girl ? She seems nice and fun. Plus she went to your old school. See ? She already has something in common with you.

Summary, 11/21

One day after school, Ruby's mother disappeared. She just never came home one day and didn't write or call her. A few weeks to living on her own, she got caught and had to do something about it. They found her sister, Cora, and her husband, Jamie. There house was much bigger than her old one. Ruby didn't want to start a new school, new life so she decided to run away after they all went to sleep. She was half way over the fence when Cora and Jamie's dog, Roscoe, ran over to her barking. Jamie came outside and noticed Roscoe and Ruby. Jamie asked what she was doing and the next door neighbor, Nate covered her saying that his music was too loud. When she and her mother were living together they used to work at an airport. They never really celebrated Christmas or any holiday. Her mother drank alot and she us. She was starting a new school.

Post A, due 11/21

2 Vocabulary Words:
alliance(p.70): a bond or connection between families, states, parties, or individuals
Palpable(p.68): to stroke, caress

Outside reading-Quarter 2

- Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
-This book has not yet been published
-Fiction
-430
-I think this book is challenging for a high school sophomore because of the subject this book relates to. It's about how a 17 year old student was living on her own after her mother left all of a sudden. She gets caught and sent to live with her sister whom she hasn't seen for the past 10 years.
-I chose this book for many reasons. One was because my mom recommended this book since it has not been published yet. Another reason was because i have read many of Sarah Dessen's book and i liked all of them. Her books were the ones i couldn't put down after 5 pages.

LAst POST!

Bubble mAps!

Sea Inside, Post 3

Most of the film techniques were pretty similar in the movie, Sea Inside. To me, it looked like they use medium shot and eye level the most. When Julia was talking to Ramon while he was laying on his bed, the shot was usually shown as a medium shot. I think they used that shot because they wanted to show the relationship that they have was not that close but as the movie went on, you could see that it grew and grew. They also had some long shots that was the sea. Ramon had talked alot about how he loved the sea and knew alot about it. I think they they used long shots for the sea was because he can't move now and he isn't as close as he was with the sea as he was before he became paralized.

Sea Inside, Post 2

I felt that the Sea Inside and the Diving Bell and the Butterfly were very similar and different in there own ways. A few ways the two books/movies were similar was how both main characters were paralized. They both didn't feel the need to live anymore as some vegetable who just sad around all day and did nothing. Some ways they were different was that they were both paralized differently and in different spots. In the Sean Inside, Ramon was able to talk but in the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the only communication was by winking his left eye. The main character of the Sea Inside and his laywer also had alittle romance in the movie, which in the Diving bell and the Butterfly, he had his family. In my opinion, the Sea Inside was more powerful. I think so because in the movie they talk alot about life and death and losing people you love the most.

Sea Inside, Post 1

I personally really liked the movie. My reactions were very strong. Ramons request for assisted suicide i thought was okay. If i were in his position for 28 years, i would probably feel the same way he did when he was thinking about death. I feel that the courts responce was reasonable because if they let him die then there would be no law saying you can't help them. I felt that his actions were something he had to do. He felt that he was no longer needed in the world and didn't want to go on living like that. I think that the friends that helped him did the right thing. For some they didn't know they were helping die, such as giving him more drugs and the next day dying. For others who did know what they were doing, they did it because that was what he wanted and they loved him enough to let him go.

Post 1

Alice was convinced she was going to start her life over and she tried. She began to lose weight the healthy way with her best friend, Lila and she had been on the cover of many teen magazines. During the summer before her senior year, she lived with a guy named, Steve who became to be one of her really good friends. One night, she decided she wanted to see a famous poet that was in the auditorium of her school. Near the middle of his speach, Alice didn't feel good at all. She hated to leave but she had to. She called one of her friends to come and pick her up. They were almost to her house when she noticed policemen outside of her house. She knew what had happend. She got out of the car and ran to her house to find Lila. She was right, she had been raped, on her bed. She and Lila went to the hopsital together and went throught the same steps as Alice had once gone through. The only difference was Lilas attitude about the whole situation. She didn't want to find out who had raped her and she wanted Alice to leave her alone. She had never found out who had raped her. Madison, her rapest, finally got convicted and put into jail. "Rape would not follow me ".

week 5

It was now thanksgiving break and Alice had returned home. Not being there for less than 24 hours, she received a letter in the mail. It was date set for the grand jury against Greg Madison, set for December 4. A few weeks before Christmas break, Alice had started a crush for a guy named Jamie Waller. He was older-26-and friends with another member of her poetry class. For fun, there group of friends would go down to a bar and share a few drinks together. Jamie didn't know about her rape until she told them when she was drunk. He said he didn't care and Alice liked that. For the grand jury however, it keeped getting pushed back. It was set again for Januart 22, but it was canceled yet again. One night after drinking with Jamie, they both went home for the night at his house. She had to go to school that morning and ever since that night, she never heard from him again. A few months later, in April, she had become best friends with a girl named Lila. They both called eachother clones. April 18 was the new date set for trial, and this time it was for sure on. Her father decided to come with her and help suport her through the emotional trial. In the morning she found out that the trial would be closed, so her father wouldn't come after all. During the trial she asked many detailed questions about the rape, and when she thought she saw him in October. It had been a long trial, but in the end, she had won.

My reaction about this section of the book was very strong. It must had been very emotional for Alice and at times i forget that this is a true story and this actually happened to one of us. In the beginning when she started her little crush i was nervous for her because she could have gotten taken advantage of. But she was smart enought to no let that happen again. Im also happy that they never talked again because maybe something else would have happened, she would fall in love then get hurt again because he was much older than her. As for the trial it must have been very hard on her. The dates kept canceling and she got even more and more nervous for the real date she would have to face her rapist. As for the real trial when she was sitting, getting asked so many personal questions about the rape, i felt bad. But i also knew that she would get through this and not be one of those victims that can’t handle it. I knew she wanted to put him away for good, she always amagined him in jail and she was so close.

Part 4, post 1 and 2

Post 1: One quote that stuck to me was, "Syracuse was over. Good riddance, i thought. I was going to the university of houston in the fall. I was going to get an MA in poetry. I would spend the summer trying to reinvent myself. I had not een Houston, never been south of Tennessee, but i was going to be different there. Rape would not follow me."(232) This quote struck me as important in the book because i would think that after a rape, you would want to start a new life and pretend that that had never happend to you. When she says Rape would not follow me, i think that is very important if you want to begin a new life.


Post 2 :It had been about 1 month since she had gone back to school. On october 14, the police called to say that gregory madison was arrested(her rapest). That meant that there would be a preliminary hearing for him. She arrived at the court 5 days after the phone call. When she was on the stand, they asked her very detailed questions about the rape. She also had to answer many questions about the day she say her rapest at the library. After the hearing, about a month later she returned to the police station to point out her rapest. She was nervous he was going to see her but they reassured her that they couldn't see through the glass. There were 5 men, and she narrowed it down to number 4 and 5. She thought they looked like identical twins. One was looking down at the ground and one was staring right at her. She decided to choose the one that was looking at her, number 5. When she got into the hallway, she relized that she didn't pick the right man. Alice had told the policemen that the only reason she picked number 5 was because he was staring right at her.

Diving bell and the Butterfly

My overall thought about the diving bell and the butterfly was positive. I thought the book was a good memoir about something devastating that happened to the author. At some points in the book I got confused and also very bored with his writing. The first couple chapters I thought were very sad to read. It described the first time he actually “came to”. He found out that he couldn’t move, except for his left eye. If I had found that out about myself I would have felt the same way, stuck inside a diving bell. I wouldn’t know what to do in my spare time, besides cry about how my life ended up to be like, instead of the future I had planed. The main way the author kept his time busy was by thinking. Thinking about dreams, memories, and his family. In the beginning, when he was all getting used to his disability, he used to think about why this happened to him and why not someone else. Towards the middle of the book, he starts to talk about random events that took place in his life. That’s where I got the most confused because at first I couldn’t tell if it was happening right now or if his mind was traveling. One of the author’s favorite places to take him and his wheelchair was outside on the deck, overlooking a lighthouse. From what he said about the lighthouse, it seemed like a good place to think over things. The last couple chapters seemed to be a little easier to understand. The author seemed to understand that he was going to die soon, they way he was writing the last chapter. He knew that he wouldn’t last that long this way, but he lived longer than he thought.

Week 3, Post 2

Throughout this book i have learned many things about Alice's life, her childhood and big events that have happend to her. One main thing i have learned about her is that her family was very different from other familys, when she was younger. They didn't get along that well, her mother started to drink, her father never listened. She was excited to begin a new life at college and get away from her family. Beginning her new life at college, she made lots of new friends, including her best friend, Mary Alice. They had much in common which made things even better for their friendship. Since the terrible event that had happened in her life, her parents became very protective of her and made sure that nothing like that would ever happen again. On her way down to the library to have one of her classes, she saw someone she knew. It was her rapest. If i was her during this situation i dont know what i would have done. I would have been terrified to know that my rapest was out on the street and nobody knew about him the way i did. Alice, after seeing her rapest went directly to the library to call her friend, who was an artist to help her draw a picture of him so it would stay fresh in his mind. In the end, Alice was the one that drew the picture and sent it to the police. I think that once the police get the picture, they will find her rapest. I feel very sad for alice and how her life ended up to be, but i also feel that her new life that she is starting will end up better than her last.

Week 3, Post 1

Alice had gone back to school at syracuse and tried to start a fresh, new beginning of her life. New friends, new roomates, new dorm.One of her favorite classes was poetry. She loved expressing her feelings on paper, because that was the only way she knew how to. For a project she had to write a poem about something that had happen in her life. She wrote about how she wanted to kill the rapest that did such terrible things to her. One regular day, heading over to the library, she noticed someone familiar. It was the same man that had raped her. She didn't know what to do except keep on walking. When he came near, he knew who she was and asked if he had seen her from somewhere. She was terrified and didn't think straight. She later went to the police to describe everything that happened that afternoon.

Alice Sebold, the author of Lucky, was born September 6, 1962 in Madison, Wisconsin. She grew up in Philadelphia where she graduated from high school in 1980. From there on she went to Syracuse University, where the story, lucky, took place. Her college years, she studied poetry mostly, and tried writing a novel that did not suceed During her teenage years, she had used drugs for about 2 years and decided it was time to change her life style. Throughtout her writing career she has written two books, "the Lovely Bones", and "Lucky".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Sebold

September 28, Post 2

1. pg. 37, Love-compassion between mothers and daughters
2. pg. 39, Drinking- addiction to drinking
3. pg. 41, Kiss- the love of family
4. pg. 41, Memories- good family childhood memories
5. pg.42, Beautiful- daughters as beautiful
6. pg. 42, Birth-life
7. pg. 44, Geek-highschool nerd
8. pg.45, Death- loved family member
9. pg. 51, Jesus- non-christian related
10. pg.53, Life- shared life with everyone


This section was about her childhood home town finding out she had been raped. She came home that same night she had been raped with her mother. Her mother and father don't know how to handel the situation and neither does her sister. Many people come and visit Alice at her home, bringing her flowers, cards, games, ect. One day a boy she used to like came over. Alice and him spent the entire afternoon talking. She liked that he didn't care about her rape.

My reation about this section was sad. Her parents dont know how to handle the situation, and dont help her out at all. They act like none of it had happened to her. Steve, the guy she used to like, understood her situation because her mother had been raped also. He didn't think any differently about her. I felt bad for her because she mostly had to take care of her sister with her problems like school and life.

September 27, Post 1

The book i am currently reading is "Lucky" by Alice Sebolt. Section 1 is page 1-34. The first 10 pages were when the rape was taking place. She had been walking home late at night where a stranger came up behind her and pulled her by her hair to a near by tunnel. After the rape, he let her go by asking her what her name was, and she said "Alice". When the stranger left she ran to her campus, which was very near, and tried to find her friends. Once she found her roommate, she called the police and they came and got her. She was taken to the hopsital so the doctors could do a rape kit. The police then brought her back to the campus where she was later picked up by her mother a few hours later.

This section of the book was very difficult to read because it didn't seem like something that could actually happen. It was very detailed during the rape and at the hospital which made it harder to read because it was horrible what happend to her. During the check up at the hospital, they found many cuts and brusses on her face and legs and i realized that it was much worse than i thought.

THIS I BELIEVE, SEPT 18 07'

1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10117268

2. Jake Hovenden

3. Inner Strength from Desperate Times

–4. His belief was about inner strenght that his stepmother showed him in desperate times

–5. Two examples from the story that showed his step mother had inner strenght was when he said " she kept him alive as long as she could, almost single handedly. That shows she had inner strenght because she believe in her self to make him feel better. Another example that shows she had inner strenght was when he said "Janey en fought past her fear of needles in order to treat my dad at home". She showed inner strenght in that sentence because she gave up the fear of needles to help him.

–6. My favorite passage from this was" i believe people sometimes refuse to give up, and they help others no madder the personal cost". This was my favorite passage because i think that it is true and also very meaniful to people.

The thing I am most anxious about at Edina High School is keeping up with all of my classes meaning getting all my homework done on time, studying, ect. If i were to miss a day of school, i would miss alot of important details and information given during my classes and i would be behind, and i dont want that to happen. For me that is what i am most worried about.



One goal for myself in my sophomore year is to give all my effort in every class. Sometimes i only give little effort in my classes and that turns into maybe a bad grade on a test or just not understanding the subject as well. For homework and studying i am going to give all my effort and turn homework in on time.