Night

In the book night, there was a boy Elie, and he had a family. He had a mother, a father, and a little sister. In the beginning he was living a normal life. But then later on, police started to tell Jews that they had to get into the "cattle cars. One of Elie's friends Moishe got taken and they brought him to a forest where he had to dig for trenches. Also, little kids were thrown up in the air and were the targets for the guns in the forest they were in. Then Moishe ended up telling everyone he was with but they just thought he was lying, not even Elie, his own friend. A while later, the others started to notice that people were being taken away to ghettos. Elie and his family were unsure of what was happening but then Moishe ended up telling Elie's family and others, "I WARNED YOU!' But then something really bad happened, after Elie and his family was living in the ghetto for a bit, they ended up getting separated into a section of men, and a section of women. This was bad because now they were separated. Elie and his father ended up getting transferred to a concentration camp named Auschwitz. Later on, Elie got an infection on his foot and ended up getting his foot operated. He was relieved when he found out he didn't lose it, all he had to do was rest on it.  But that wasn't until he heard that the people were being evacuated from the camp. Since Elie didn't know where they were going, he decided to keep walking even though his foot was infected because he didn't want to be away from his father. After walking for awhile in the cold snow, they finally got to where they were supposed to go. Elie's father was then sick, and the way Elie knew was because of the way he looked, he changed n the matter of months, and it wasn't the good kind. Unfortunately, his father ended up dying, but the thing is, Elie didn't cry. He wanted to stay strong for the sake of his family because now they were all officially dead. Elie is such a strong, brave, courageous, and powerful boy, and I really like how he was determined to stay strong for his family, even if they all died.

I thought that this book had many conflicts, but one of the main ones would be man vs. society. I would say it's this kind of conflict because Elie, the main character, had to face the Nazis and the people that were running the camps. For example, they would get abused and pushed around to do things. One other main conflict I think was in the book was man vs. man because they would have to fight with other people for what they wanted. Another thing is they were getting hurt, but not just physically, but emotionally as well. The Jews would have to go through so many different things, bad and painful. 

Holocaust Response

In my opinion, I think that the people stood by and watched the Holocaust because they thought it wasn't that big of a deal at the time. But when the Holocaust went further and people knew about how bad it was, they probably just went to the Nazi side because they didn't want to get killed. I honestly don't really know what I would've done. I would've felt guilty if I was one the other side, and if I went to the camps and got killed I would have a horrid feeling in the pit of my stomach because I mean, you know don't know what's going on at first, but then when you arrive at the camps and such, you end up dying. Unless you manage to escape, but that is a hard possibility. I learned this one phrase that my teacher Ms. Belkov told my class and I and personally dig it. It goes, "Ignorance is Bliss", man this phrase can mean many things.  When we read an article about Bystanders, I realized that sometimes being a bystander isn't all that bad. You just stay away from the problem because maybe you don't want to get into it. A Bystander is someone who avoids dealing with injustice. For example, white people during the civil rights movement who did nothing, the non- Jewish Germans during the Holocaust. eAn up-stander is a person who stands up when they see injustice. For example, MLK, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Cesar Chavez. Another one is the complete and total opposite of the two, and they are called the perpetrator. They someone who is causing the injustice. For example, Hitler/Nazis, KKK (white supremacists). I can't wait for more new things to learn in Lit. since Iv'e already got to learn new things that I didn't know.

Continuing on "The Pretty One"

I've gotten quite far the past few days in "The Pretty One".  So, first off,  Megan ends up noticing a guy that's in her school. his name is drew and she's in absolute love with him. He's so mysterious and different from the other guys that always look at the perfect girls with perfect bodies and perfect faces. Although Megan was far from perfect, he still talked to her and that just made her admire him even more. So as you may be wondering, she finally went to the Fall Festival with Simon. But, something bad happened..... Megan felt stunning for the first time in her life, and that was just because of some size 11 dress, makeup and hair done, and googly eyes from her sister and mom. That is, until she goes to the bathroom real quick and she hears two girls come in and she hears them talking about someone. She listens very attentively, then she realizes they were talking about her, and believe me, they weren't nice things. Once she couldn't take it anymore she ended up running outside of the bathroom and into the rain all the way home. But something stops her.. a car ramming into her body and nearly killing her. But she survives, although she still needs to get some surgery done.

There are so many Aha Moments that I come across in my book. There is one specific one that I mention and that's how Megan ended up getting in an accident from when she was at her schools Fall Festival. She got hurt really badly and needed some major surgeries. Megan knew that she was definitely not going to look the same anymore seeing as if her whole face and body got messed up. But she had an Aha Moment and realized that from now on, things were going to change for her. She just didn't know if they were going to be good or bad.

New Book "The Pretty One"

I'm currently reading a new book which is called "The Pretty One" by Cheryl Klam. So far in the book, there are three main characters which are Megan, Lucy and Simon. Megan, is the main main character because the book is in her point of view. Lucy is her sister, and she is another main character in the book since Megan talks about her. Then there's Simon, Megan's best friend. So far in the book, they have been hanging out a lot, obviously because their best friends. One connection that I can make towards this book is that I went through the same thing while I was in school, just not my sister. (BECAUSE SHE'S 20X OLDER THAN ME) (she's really old but not that old) *haha* But I would have the same  thoughts as Megan, but it would be with my best friend. But now I learn to accept the way I am. I just hope later on in the book, that Megan realizes it too.

Since I haven't really gotten to the climax of my book yet, I can't really say anything. But, there is one part in my book that I have emotion towards, and that is how she is going to the Fall Festival with Simon. In the book, Megan was talking about how she was going dress shopping with her sister and her dad. But her dad wasn't the best dad ever. He would always point out things to her that were not needed at times, and he wasn't as supportive as her mother is. Now keep in mind that Megan wasn't all that skinny. But when they went to the mall, I noticed that I could relate to the part that came up next in the book. Which was that she tried on a size 13 dress, and that didn't fit her because it was too small. But, another dress she had was a size 11 and she tried that one on and it fit her perfectly! That happened to me once when I was in the stores trying on dresses and let me tell you right now, it was one of the best feelings ever. But I could just feel how she was feeling because I've been through the exact same thing. If you can relate to what the character feels in the book. You can already tell your going to fall in love with it because you feel that it's such a perfect book. 

Workers' Rights Thoughts

"Fight for Fair Treatment: Don't Buy Nike is the article that I read. I think that the argument of the article is how the people in the sweatshops from getting abused and only getting paid $1.25 a day for working a full day. In the article it said, " In 2011, Steven Wright of The Associated Press reported physical and mental abuse at Nike factories. This abuse included kicking, slapping, throwing shoes at workers and making workers stand in the hot sun for making mistakes on the job." I think that it's very horrid of the people to do that to the workers because they are the ones that are basically creating the items, besides the machines of course. I also feel that it's a great idea that they are realizing the bad stuff that's happening and that they are putting a stop to it. One main thing that I was very surprised about is how they actually put them outside in the sun when they make any mistakes. That really got me mad because everyone makes mistakes and even when we make them, we improve on them and do better. It isn't really necessary to make them stand in the blazing hot weather just for one thing they made a mistake on. 

"The Sweatshop" is the poem that I read. I think that the argument is how the narrator (girl) is feeling like she is no longer a human being, she feels that she has turned into a machine when or because she is put through work and many hard things she has to deal with. If you read the poem, you notice that in stanza on, lines two to four, you can see she says,
 "That I often forget who I am.
I get lost in the frightful tumult 
My self is destroyed, I become a machine." 

The poem and the article is different because the article isn't very specific with the feelings and such. In the poem, you can feel the sadness and the way she tells how she doesn't feel human anymore, and like she feels as if she's just a machine. The poem for is more better because you can put yourself in her shoes in your mind when she expresses the emotions she has when she is going through the rough times and her explicit details on the things she says throughout the poem.

Smart Girls Get What They Want

Going on with the book I'm reading, there is some very interesting new things that happen. First things first, remember that whole running for student rep thing? Yeah, the whole reason for that was because the old student rep was caught holding a beer at a bonfire. But the thing is that it wasn't his beer, it was his friend that was also running for student rep. There was also a little twist as well, he was only doing it to boycott the election. His name was Smitty Chavez, and he told Gigi probably like a few weeks after announcing their names for running for student rep, that he wants her to drop out of the election. Why? You'll have to read it in the book.... Another thing that I just HAVE to say because I was screaming at the top of my lungs, Will, admitted to Gigi that he likes her. He was going to break up with his girlfriend Talia because of the long distance problems. OH MY GOODNESS! GUESS WHAT?!! HE ASKS HER TO THE CRYSTAL BALL! MY GOODNESS! Also, if you want to know what she said, you could find out by just reading the book, so check it out!

This is more of a young adult fiction type of book. I noticed that I've been reading a lot of young adult types of books lately. I feel like it's because I can make more connections and get more jumpy and girly when I read these types of books. That to me is what I like in books, because I like to be girly and to be honest, when I read these books, I actually talk to myself like the freak that I am if they're really good. *haha* This book, will probably end up as a favorite for me because I'm in LOVE with this book! I could sing all day to it, scream if I have to! This book just screams me, and I don't know if it has to do with the romance, the little humorous parts, or the parts that make me jump and talk to myself that are my favorite. *haha* I TOTALLY recommend this book to anyone interested in these types of books!

Thoughts on Smart Girls Get What They Want

I'm currently in the middle of the book "Smart Girls Get What They Want" and let me just say how amazing I personally think the book is! It makes you squeal, smile like crazy, it makes you want to keep reading, and it's just so entertaining. Gigi is running for student rep because she wants to save the other classes like the jewelry class, driver's ed, and others as well. She also meets this new guy in her school named Will, and she slowly starts to develop feelings towards him. But when she finds out he has a girlfriend, she realizes that it was too good to be true. That doesn't mean that they stopped talking or whatever, as a matter of fact, he told her that he was thinking of breaking up with his girlfriend because of the long distance situation. Oh, and did I mention he was running for student rep as well? Gigi has a really hard time with him because of the whole situation with his girlfriend, and because he stood her up on the date she was supposed to take Will and his little brother to the aquarium. I'll tell you more in my next blogs to come!

I feel like one of the most important conflicts in the book is person vs. person. Since Gigi is running for student rep, she's facing those other candidates and wants to win, so Gigi will do whatever it takes to make her point and become student rep, and that will be a little difficult but she is going to try her hardest. Another struggle that she is going through is with Will because he is running for student rep as well, and she kind of likes him. This might be another conflict because maybe she will start to like him even more and consider dropping out of the election.  Maybe if one of them wins, they will stop talking to one another, or maybe they will end up both dropping out together. Then one conflict can lead to another, then to another, and everything is going to change. 

Call of Duty

In the little story on Scholastic called Call of Duty. It's about a man named Jose who had to find bombs that were hidden by Taliban fighters. He got one of the German Shepherds to help him, his name was Zenit. Zenit was obviously trained to sniff out the explosives, and a while after, Zenit ended up finding one of the improvised explosive devices. (IED) But when a horrible accident happens to Jose a while after seeing that there were many more explosives seen everywhere, he ended up stepping onto the explosive. They had to send a helicopter to come help them because he was losing a lot of blood. When the helicopter came, they said that Zenit remained by Jose's side at all times. Both of his legs had to get cut of from the the knee. But unfortunately, they took Zenit away from Jose because he was no longer Zenit's handler. So Zenit got a new handler in Afghanistan and it made Jose very mad and even jealous because he said that Zenit and himself were a team and that he wanted him back. But he couldn't get him back because he belonged to the Marines. Unless he adopted Zenit after he was discharged from the military. But finally, Jose finally got his Zenit back when he was discharged. I personally thought that this story was heart-warming because of how strong, caring, and determined Jose was when he got injured and when he wanted to get Zenit back. I also just adore how there was a dog, especially a german shepherd because that's the kind of dog that I want in my future. So the story kind of interested me more than the other ones. One conflict that I feel Jose was going through was person vs. self because he had gotten into that accident and there must've been so many thoughts going through his head. Another thing is how he wanted Zenit back so badly, but he had to be patient in order to get him back because of the rules. This story really touched my heart because it shows that a dog can actually be a man's best friend.

Sneak Peek to a New Book!

Do you enjoy reading young-adult fiction? Well, if you don't, then this book sure isn't for you. But even if it isn't your type of book, you should still give it a shot, just like I did with The Maze Runner. Now the book Smart Girls Get What They Want is basically about three girls in school who are trying to fit in with the school more because they are invisible and it's just because they are really smart. But Gigi, Bea, and Neerja  have obstacles in the way of what they want to "tryout for". Gigi wants to run for student rep. But will have to overcome her Glossophobia. (fear of public speaking) Neerja loves drama club but just real stayed "behind the scenes", but that she is willing to change. Bea was one of the best skiers, but she had to stop because her brother got in an accident by snowboarding and was almost paralyzed. So her parents told her that she is no longer going to be skiing anymore just because of that. But, Bea is going to try out for the team at school after months of not skiing. Will these girls smart girls really get what they want this time? Read the book to find out!


Gigi is the one telling the story so it's first person point of view because it's coming from her side and it tells how she feels and her opinions and thoughts on things. I figured that out because it uses the words I and me. Another thing is that when you read the book, you notice that it doesn't really say her name a lot because it's in her point of view.  Most of the problems in the book have to do with her. Like one recent one in my book is that she and another guy got in trouble for "cheating" on a test in chemistry. But they didn't cheat, they were both just very academically challenged. 

Mr. Lemon Brown

Lemon Brown was a very interesting short story, and you can have so many reactions towards the story. One of my reactions was heart-warmed because of when Mr. Lemon Brown held Greg's hand. It made me think about how much he cared for Greg to be safe and not hurt. This relates to the topic he was homeless, living in an abandoned building, and we were discussing in class about homelessness. I was surprised when Lemon Brown held Greg's hand because I honestly expected him to just leave him behind and tell him to hide somewhere else. Another thing that I was surprised about was when he said that he was a famous Jazz singer and then he became homeless because "the jazz quit on him". I wasn't really expecting him to become homeless because of that. Greg changed a lot in my eyes throughout the story because at first, he didn't really care about what his dad had to say to him, but then in the end, he ended up taking the time to listen to his dad.

The Scorch Trials Summary

The Scorch Trials is basically a sequel to The Maze Runner. Since there is a sequel, I'm guessing you can tell that they actually passed the Maze. Everything is now more challenging and difficult for the gladers and Thomas himself because it won't be the same weather climate, there is going to be more obstacles that get in their way so that they can pass "phase two", and there is probably going to be more people being lost from their group. You will be so surprised in one part of the book that you will literally scream pout loud and say, *insert your most white girl voice* "OH MY GOD WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!", mainly for the ladies, and for those gentlemen reading out there you are most likely to say this to yourself,  *insert your most manly voice*"BRO, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON BRO?!". If you like the type of science fiction types of action book, then this book, or should I say series, is the right one for you! I guarantee you you'll be totally interested! Don't forget to see the movies as well!
Thomas is one of the main characters in the series of The Maze Runner. Thomas is made out as the "greenie", which is their kind of slang way of saying the newbie. But in The Scorch Trials, that sort of changes.... since Thomas helped some of the Gladers survive the Maze, he is kind of getting praised, kind of like a king or something. Thomas is an intelligent, brave, humble, kind hearted, and emotional kind of person. He always thinks about his teammates when it comes to survival or taking care of them, but he also takes care of himself, which is something that is very hard to do all at once.  Taking risks is one main thing that he does when it comes to himself or others so that they end up staying alive. For example, he went into the maze when he saw two of his friends in the maze struggling to get out and back into the glade, which is like him risking his life for them because when you go into the maze, you have a chance at dying, and not one of the gladers had survived one night in the glade without dying. But he survived, with both his friends able to get health care and be safe once again.

The Maze Runner Summary

The Maze Runner is a science fiction type of book. Thomas and his friends are trapped in a maze, as a test to see if they can figure it out. But there is one boy named Gally, and he thinks that there is something suspicious about Thomas so he is very hard on him at times. You should know that the whole group is all boys. That is until a girl named Teresa arrives in the lift and has a strong connection with Thomas, but cannot figure out how. They have this secret telepathy thing that they can do and only them. You find out some crazy news about them in the book, and you will get those goosebumps forming onto your skin! Then there is his best friend named Chuck, and he has been there for him since day one. No matter what age he is, he doesn't care that he is younger than him. He makes a promise to Chuck that is very heartwarming and will boost of your loving for Thomas in the book .There are these things called "Grievers" that attack you once they see you, and that's not good, especially when they find you on the other side of the glade, which is inside the maze! They sting you with their poison venom on their sharp ends of their metal tail. You go through this horrid thing called the changing. It can either end good, or bad for you, depending on how hard you take the changing. Newt and Alby are the leaders as you can say, they are the ones that basically "lead" the pack of boys, but Newt is considered as the biggest leader out of Alby and himself. They sacrifice their lives for the other boys in danger, which is very brave and thoughtful of them. Minho is Thomas's trainer as a runner, but usually you can't be a runner unless you are best at it than the other jobs you "tryout for". But Thomas did something extraordinary to earn the job to be a runner, and if you want to know what he did, read the Maze Runner! Do you want to know who escaped the maze? Read the Maze Runner! The Maze Runner is filled with mysteries, consequences, and makes you so emotional in many different ways! It has so much action and makes you want to jump out of your seat, maybe even into your book.