Monday, January 31, 2011

Train - Marry Me

I will admit, I love this song. It could make me cry. It's so sincere and sweet. It also reminds me of the episode of Oprah where this guy has cancer and he made a video to this song for his wife. It's like inspirational.

So I really hate picking favorites, but if I had to pick a favorite book, I'd probably pick To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It's such a great, classic book. I've had to read it for school twice, but I'd read it again just for myself. First of all, it's not boring like some books for school are; it's actually quite intriguing. It tells the story of justice in a small southern town. It deals with racism, justice, and growing up in general. I don't want to say much about it, but I'd recommend it to just about anyone. If you haven't read it you definitely should!

So I just watched Sixteen Candles. I love this movie. It's seriously one of the best. I think Molly Ringwald is a great actress. It's about a girl turning 16 years old and her family forgets her birthday, but then of course there's a hot guy to make up for all of it in the end. It's a classic and you should definitely watch it.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
Literary Fiction
pg. 138-170

So now Charlie just kissed Sam instead of Mary Elizabeth and is facing the consequences. His winter break isn't over yet, but he is spending it alone because none of his friends have called him since the incident. Although, he did call Mary Elizabeth to apologize and she just said it's too late. After going a week without talking to any of them, Charlie ended up calling his friend Bob...to buy pot, and has been smoking it ever since. Charlie experiences this slump still, withdrawn from his friends because of what he did. But Charlie did continue to see Bob, when he kept buying more pot. Meanwhile, Patrick (who is gay) had been secretly seeing Brad (the senior quarterback), and Brad's father recently caught the two of them together. Brad acted drunk and like it never happened although it did. And at school one day, Patrick got into a fight with Brad and the other jocks, and Patrick would have been completely outnumbered, but Charlie joined the fight, evening it out. Patrick was suspended for a week, but Brad and Charlie only got detention because it was "self-defense." This mended the relationship between Charlie and his whole group of senior friends. Now Patrick was experiencing a hard time since his break up with Brad. He starts spending a lot of time with Charlie. They become really close. One day, Patrick even kissed Charlie and Charlie allowed it because he thought he was being a good friend. But the school year is starting to come to an end, and all of Charlie's friends happen to be seniors so they are preparing for graduation and prom, and Charlie is alone again.

So during this part Charlie really gets in to drugs and that's really similar to kids today. When some kids get lonely and are going through a rough time, they turn to drugs. Just like Charlie. Still, the book portrays all the experiences of high school. The drugs, breaking up, fights, and more. The whole thing about Patrick kissing Charlie is different to me. Most teenagers wouldn't kiss their friends just to be a good friend and help them feel better, it's weird to me. But I guess that's why Charlie is a wallflower.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

So everybody says a huge snow storm is coming. I'm not too sure how much snow were actually going to get. I hope it's a lot. Some say it could be from 18 to 24 inches (which I highly doubt), and others say from like 8 to 12 inches. I'll be happy with any snow if we get a delay or even a cancellation. Lots of people complain when school gets canceled, but I like it. It's more exciting to get a random day off that you didn't expect than a day you knew was going to be off. But anyways, a snow day would be amazing. Everyone is getting so sick and it would really help. I've been really sick myself. So I have had lots of time to read, I just haven't felt good enough to actually make it to a computer....
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
Literary Fiction (I forgot to say before)
pg. 76-137

This part of the book starts off with Charlie sitting in his dad's old bedroom while at his grandparent's house on Christmas. He recalls the past few days which includes his 16th birthday. Although most kids enjoy their birthdays, especially their 16th, Charlie is actually quite sad. His birthday reminds him of all the sad things in life such as losing his close friend Michael and his favorite aunt Helen. Charlie goes on to explain that his aunt Helen would get him a birthday and Christmas present, even though they were one day after each other, and his aunt Helen had gone out to buy his birthday present when she was in a car accident and died. Charlie blamed himself for her death. But anyways, Charlie gets his license soon after Christmas and drove for the first time on New Years Eve to the Big Boy and then to a party. At the party, Charlie ends up getting messed up on LSD. He proceeds to write one of his letters to us at 4 o'clock in the morning, but then writes again a few days later explaining everything. He ended up laying in the snow somewhere in the morning, landing himself in the hospital. After his drug experience, Charlie then falls into the habit of smoking cigarettes. On another note though, Charlie does end up seeing his psychiatrist again. While there, he realizes that he will always have another terrible week ahead so he should remember as many details as he can when he's having a great day so that he can recall those when it's not such a great day anymore. Time passes though and it's now February. Charlie's school is having a Sadie Hawkins dance and he gets asked by Mary Elizabeth. Eventually the dance comes around and they all go and have fun. But Mary Elizabeth gets sort of clingy afterwords. They start going out a lot and she would call him everyday right when she got home from school. She would do all the talking and he would barely get to say anything, he would just ask her questions and let it go from there. Eventually at a party, Charlie is dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, and while most people would have expected his to kiss Mary because they're dating, he kissed his close friend Sam instead because he honestly thought she was the prettiest.  That ended that relationship. However, throughout this time, Charlie's sister ended up telling him that she was pregnant and was getting an abortion and needed him to take her. He did so, being there for his sister, being the only one who even knew about her pregnancy.

So throughout this part of the book, it still gives you a really unique insight on the life of a teenager. It deals with sex, drugs, alcohol, death, and all of the consequences. It really is comparable to your own life. The Sadie Hawkins dance is exactly like our Morp and everything. All the drugs he experiences and witnesses is very comparable to today. Although some times have changed, like instead of calling right after school, a clingy girlfriend of boyfriend would just continuously text one another. However, he sort of captured the main essence of a high school relationship.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
pg. 40-75

So during this part, Charlie continues to tell about his life. He still writes letters to the reader, leaving out some details in order to remain anonymous. In the first part, he talks about his friend Patrick who happens to be gay and his first experience with his "boyfriend" Brad. He talks about all the troubles they were put up against. He continues on to talk about The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There most of his group of friends are the characters in the show where they act it out every Friday night. Charlie also talks about how he loves Sam, who is Patrick's sister and one of his other close friends. However, Sam is way too old for Charlie, but still he thinks of her as the prettiest girl ever and is secretly in love with her. At this point in the book, it is right around Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Charlie talks about spending the holidays with his family. He spent Thanksgiving with his mom's family and Christmas with his dad's. He makes a statement that both sides of his family are the same, just different names. He thinks that there is always someone who could be similar to someone else on the other side of his family.

I'm still really enjoying this book. It gives you another look on another kid's high school experience. He talks about drugs, sex, family, and friends. He covers it all. It really gives you a new perspective on some things. When he compared his mom's family to his dad's family, it made me do the same thing in my head. I started to think of who was alike on each side of my family. It made perfect sense. There's always the loud one of both sides of your family, and then the lazy one, or the one who cooks. There's one in every family.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
pg 1-39

So here the book starts off with a sort of diary entry. This boy Charlie writes all these entries about his time in high school and all his experiences. However, he is very reluctant about some stuff. He doesn't want the reader to find out who he really is and who everyone he talks about is. So he sort of holds some information back but then shares some as well. He also changes the names of some people in order to hide his identity. But anyways, in this first part of the book, Charlie introduces himself to us and talks about himself and his family. He talks about his really good friend Michael who supposedly committed suicide and then his favorite aunt Helen who also passed away. He frequently talks about all the hardships he faces and the idea that many people have problems at home. Charlie also talks about his first year in high school and how he doesn't fit in very much. He does make attempts to be more social by attending public events. He meets these two people, Sam and Patrick who are brother and sister. He soon develops a crush on Sam, although she is much older than him. He bluntly tells her this though, but she was perfectly understandable of it. However, towards the end of this passage, Charlie writes about how he went to this party with Sam and Patrick and ended up getting high.

So far, I really enjoy this book. I like that it's written in letter form. It makes it sort of personal in a way. It makes me think of how that might relate to my own life and who each character could be in my own life. It really allows to you to feel like you are inside of Charlie's head listening to his thoughts and experiencing things the same as he does.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Such a Pretty Girl
Laura Weiss
pg 161-212

So these are the last few pages of the book. I really don't want to say much about what actually happens in the book because I don't want to ruin it for anyone who decides to read it.

But anyways, I finished the book completely and it was kind of creepy, scary, and lifelike in a way, but I still really enjoyed and it and would recommend it to someone else. It has a decent story line, and kept me very suspended and interested. It took me no time to read at all.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Girl Falls In Mall Fountain While Texting (BuzzFeed.com)

Something I would definitely do...probably why we shouldn't walk and text...
Such a Pretty Girl
Laura Weiss
pg 118-160

So at this point in the book, Meredith has run away from her home in attempt to avoid her father. She ended up at her grandmother's where Meredith, her mother, and her grandmother enter an argument over the current situation between Meredith and her father. Although, she still decides to return home in order to sacrifice herself. Meredith conjures up a plan in her mind to let her father break his agreement by returning to his old ways. She figures that she has already experienced it once, so if he just uses her again she can spare the someone else's sake. But I'll stop there. I don't want to ruin anything. I've probably said too much already.

The book so far has had some creepy or disturbing parts when Meredith is recalling the past with her father. It's so life like. But I do admire Meredith in a way. She is willing to sacrifice her self for the sake of others. While it might have horrible repercussions for her, it would really help to protect all the other children. Most kids these days would be too afraid or even selfish to save others. I don't even know what I would do if I were her though.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Such a Pretty Girl
Laura Weiss
pg. 76-117

So in the first part of the book, Meredith's father is released from prison causing lots of drama. However, now she has escaped from her house and Andy's house in fear of being used by his mother to avenge her own son. She then leaves the area, escaping to her grandmother's house where she knows she will be protected. Upon her arrival, she finds that her mother has already beat her there. The three enter a huge argument leading to Meredith moving in with her grandmother. However, I don't want to spoil anything so I will stop talking about that.

Throughout the first part of the book, Meredith has a strange obsession with numbers though. She enjoys even number a lot, but odd ones as well. She has so many different views. At one point she enjoys the number seven because she believes seven is the number of completion. To really understand her whole numbers theory you have to read the book.

I'm now more than halfway through the book and I really enjoy it. It's so life like and makes me think about all the people who really do have to deal with situations like Meredith's. It makes me wonder how they deal with that, it would cause serious emotional and even physical scarring. I also wonder how people can get away with stuff like that. Her father was in jail for only three years when it was supposed to be nine. That just doesn't seem right to me. He was supposed to be there for nine years so that when he was released she would be all grown up and gone and not forced to deal with him. It just makes me curious of how people like that could even be allowed to released from prison early.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Such a Pretty Girl
Laura Weiss
maybe literary fiction? probably not though...
pg 1-75

In these pages, it introduces the story as most novels do. It tells you about Meredith, a fifteen year old girl, who is forced to deal with her father. However, her father has just been released from prison after only three years, when he was supposed to remain there for nine years. Her father, Charles, was imprisoned as a sex offender after molesting a known total of five children, including his own daughter. But anyways, he comes back into her life due to her mother's turning of the cheek towards the whole situation. Her mother believes the whole thing was an accident and Meredith should forgive her father, however she disagrees with her mother. In attempt to push her father away, Meredith rebels in numerous ways to keep her father out of her life to remove the fear of yet another incident. She does find herself a safe haven in a neighboring condo, where her overly religious, paralyzed beau, Andy, lives with his even more religious mother. Andy and Meredith share a common experience though. Andy too had horrid experiences with Meredith's father numerous years ago. Upon his arrival, Meredith sabotages all that she can to make her father want to leave, however it only brings him closer. He intends to put a strict hold on his daughter, although the law states he is not allowed to be alone with her at any point without the presence of another adult. Despite that, he breaks the law when she wakes up to find him in her condo with her mother gone. She proceeds to trick both her mother and father and run away to Andy's, bringing me to page 75.

I really enjoy this book actually. It keeps me entertained by telling a story that could very possibly be true. Various times Meredith also recalls incidents in her past telling about her father, alluding to her great fear of him today. Although, parts of it are unappealing, such as the fact of a fifteen year old girl smoking cigarettes habitually already. However, I really enjoy this book and I'm excited to finish it.