1st Quarter Reflection

Nicolas Fuentes

10/28/15

Prompts: 1.) Where are you with your forty book challenge?

2.) How have your blogs been progressing since August? 

3.) How did writing a memoir help you realize what work there needs to write a memoir?

4.) How has your organization improved since August?

5.) Has reading other genres, than what you normally would read, helped you in any way.?

          So far, I have read, and finished, three books. I am also hoping to finish a book I am reading right now called Roll of Thinder, Hear My Cry. I have finished Paper Towns, The Maze Runner Series: The Death Cure, and Beyonders: Chasing The Prophecy. I really enjoyed these books because they really go into depth and are interesting. 

          I personally think I have really made some progress with my blogs since August. I have improved my vocabulary drastically. This helps me add more detail to my blogs, therefore a better judgment. I always try to add more detail to my blogs. 

          Writing a memoir narritave helps me improve on my vocabulary, organization, and punctuation. I think writing a memoir pushed me in order to become a better writer. I had to learn that revising is key in every paper you write. I had to learn to use active verbs instead of past tense verbs. I had to learn to show and not tell people how I feel. Writing a narritave really helped me into becoming a better writer.

          My organization has stayed the same throughout the course of this first quarter. I haven't become worse, I haven't become better. My goal is to, obviously, to become better in organization. One thing I have also learned throughout the first quarter is that organization is everything. If you are organized then your one step closer to being a better person. 

          I think reading other genres has helped me in many ways and branch out into books I wouldn't normally read. One, for instance, is Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This books is less appealing to most but has caught my interest here and there. I was forced to read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, that doesn't make it any less interesting. This helped me unfold and try to appreciate new books.

          

             

The Maze Runner Series: The Death Cure

Book: The Maze Runner Series: The Death Cure

Author: James Dashner 

Prompts: 1.) What is your favorite character? Why?

2.) What do you think will happen next?

3.) What is the mood of what you're reading(happy, sad, funny, serious, etc.)? Defend your idea.

         My favorite character, during the whole series, is Thomas. He is favorite character because he preserves and finds answers. He never settles for maybe, he always gets answers that he knows are 100% correct. I know this because the text states that, "Thomas shook his head. He was tired of puzzling everything out." This shows that Thomas doesn't like to piece thing together, he likes a direct answer. This is why he is my favorite character. 

          What I think will happen next, based on the actions of the characters, is the main characters are going to get captured after escaping their jail cell. I think this because every turn they take, there are no guards or anything to protect their weapons or defenses. I feel suspicious because of this. I know this because the text states, "I have to be honest - something definitely feels off. I bet this is another one of their bloody tests!" This shows that the main characters have their suspicions. This is what I think will happen next.

          The mood displayed throughout this book has been serious and melancholy. If you read the book you can see that the main characters are dead serious and are willing to take extreme measures for their freedom. But, in this book, freedom costs lives. I know this because the text presents, "Thomas didn't hesitate. He swung his elbow backward into the face of the guard behind him just as he kicked the knee of the one in front. Both fell to the floor, stunned, but recovered quickly. Out of the corner of his eye Thomas saw Newt tackle a guard to the ground; Minho was punching another. But the fifth - a woman - hadn't been touched, and she was raising her launcher." This shows that the characters in this book will do anything for freedom. This is why this is the mood displayed during the book.

Life Lines Poem: Mawi

"A New, Struggling Life."  

Next stop

Athens. 

Then

America

And there

A new life.

Heading to America

Are you?

They say 

America 

Seems sweet on top

Like fresh honey 

Straight from the comb.

Money flows through streets

Of glimmering gold.

Everyone lives

Long

Easy lives.

But

What's sweet on the surface

Is often rotten underneath.

So 

Beware.

I 

Remember asking myself

How 

Can something this 

Beautiful 

Be stolen by someone else's 

Recklessness?

If that's what life was like 

Then 

What are we striving for,

Anyway

But 

Along the way

I 

Have found 

Greater values 

In other

Dreams

Of the gifts 

We

Can give

The greatest 

Is to see 

The beauty in each other

In essence 

To give 

Beauty 

To 

Each other  

Comparing "Of Beetles and Angels" and AOW

9/24/15

Prompt: First two paragraphs have to be about individuals, events, or ideas. The last will focus on the main question, "How does war affect individuals and societies?"

          The book "Of Beetles and Angels"  and the Aow, "Refugees face tear gas, water cannons as they cut new paths through Europe" have many similarities. We are going to discuss the similarities that many individuals have that have been presented throughout the book and the article. The article states that, " Just steps from Hungary, thousands of people spent the night in wet grass on the Sebrian side of the border. Hours later, hundreds tried to punch through the cordon of razor wire and riot police massed near the Serbian border town of Horgos." This shows that there are many refugees that are seeking a better life. This relates to Mawi because the book explains that, "Millions of my people had become refugees during the thirty-year bloodbath between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Most had fled to Sudan. Seeing their plight, World Relief had mediated an agreement between the United States and Sudan to resettle some of the refugees." This shows that just like the European refugees, Mawi's people had become refugees in search for a new life.

          There are many ideas that are presented during the book, "Of Beatles and Angels" and the 

AOW ,"Refugees face tear gas, water cannons as they cut new paths through Europe." One idea that was presented in the book was determination. I know this because the book explains that," I almost abandoned my dreams of becoming a top student and earning a scholarship. But I loved my family to much to give up. And I knew my brother Tewolde never would have given up." This shows Mawi's determination by not giving up. It also shows persistence. In the article it states that, " We hit a stone and we flow around it." This shows being determined and flexible. These two quotes show how hard refugees work for a new and better life.

          There are many ways in which war affects and corrupts individuals and societies. One way war affects individuals and societies is by turning them inside out. In a society there are many people from many races. If two or more different races are at war and those races exist in that country friends could be turned into enemies. The way it affects you as an individual is by turning you into a different person. It morphs them into another person like if you were always happy and your country is at war you would turned into th complete opposite. These are one of the many reasons that war affects individuals and societies.

          

          

"Beyonders: Chasing the Prophecy" Summer Project 4

8/21/15
Prompt: "What ideas do you have about what is going to happen? What clues have you read to give you those ideas?"



          The place from where I left off the main character was on a quest to find a learn the archives of a powerful man that is long dead. But, there's one problem, there is a protector guarding the entrance that has never been killed even by the most powerful people in the present day. I predict that they are going to defeat him, but with difficulty. These are the clues that I have spotted that this what I have is going to happen. This is what I think will happen.

          Another prediction that I have is that the main characters are going to raise an army to overthrow the corrupted empire. But, I also have a feeling that they are leading themselves into a trap. The clues leading me to this conclusion are that the leader of this empire has managed to enter the dreams of one of the main characters and has told her that they are going to kill themselves. Another clue that I have found is that there is a ship called an interceptor that is going to intercept the path of the main character. That ship was sent by the empire.

           And finally, the last prediction that I have is that they will be able to overthrow the empire even if there are a billion paths to defeat and one to success. I think this because everything they have got themselves into they have been able to escape. Like, escape from the nations top jail. Also, defeat a dream in a sword battle. They have gotten themselves in many sticky situations but have always been able to survive. These are the clues that have been provided throughout the book and the conclusions I have.



       

"Beyonders: Chasing the Prophecy" Summer Project 3

8/20/15
Prompt: "List three problems the character faced? Which was the most life changing? Explain."


           One problem the character faced is that another character tried to murder her in cold blood. I think this problem was the most life changing. Especially, because that character was a friend of hers.
But, that character was poisoned by the antagonist. The antagonist, his name is Maldor, and the character, her name is Rachel, are enemies. Rachel is part of a rebellion against Maldor.

           Another problem Rachel faced is she has to go a major city in the book and convince them to join the rebellion. I don't really think this was the most life changing event out of all the three problems but its in the list. I think this because: one, she has had near certain-death experiences. Two: she has learned a language that allows you to manipulate objects around you. And, three: she hasn't seen her parents for a year now. That has a lot more value referring to life changing experiences.

          And finally, the last problem that Rachel faces during the book is to control her power she has gained throughout the story. I think this the second life changing experience that has happened to her in the story. I think this because during the story I have seen many problems but only chose to present these three. The reason for this action is because I thought these were the most important problems in the book. I chose the most life changing events.

Summer Reading Project 2nd Blog

8/5/15
Book: "Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion."
Prompt: "If you could talk to the author, what questions would you ask? Why?"

          If I could ask the author a question, I would ask him why you chose to make the protagonist a person from another world. I would ask him this because I would never think to make the protagonist a random person from another world. I guess this makes the book unique in many ways. This also makes the book more interesting than a book with a character from the same world.

          Another question I would ask the author is why he chose to use a time that is aged. I would ask him this because he chose to take a person from the future and place him in the past. The times he uses are very different. The past represents Medieval Times and the future represents the 2000's.This makes the book even more unique and interesting because of the time difference.

          And finally, I would ask the author where did he base all of his ideas from. I would ask him this because I've never read a book where everything makes no sense and at the same time it makes sense. I liked the variety this book had because it mixed a lot of things.
This book always had you in suspense and I never wanted to put it down. It was a really great book and I enjoyed it.