Book Three Project

Chelsea  is a Tragic Hero

When reading the book Speechless, your first thoughts of the main character is that she has to be the antagonist. After all, within pages of starting the book she reveals the secret of a boy she knows, to her whole school for purely selfish motives. She tells everyone that he’s gay and the result of this news, a couple of boys from the basketball team go and beat him up.

I was quick to put her in the villain category because surely there’d be no way for her to recover from this.  After hearing that the boy ended up in the hospital, Chelsea is quick to realize what she’s done. She tells her parents and informs the police what happened and who hurt the boy.

Chelsea decides to take an vow of silence, hoping that it’ll teach her to think before she speaks. The vow causes Chelsea to meet some new friends and through a crazy turn of events be able to right all the wrongs she made.  She even goes as far to apologize to the boy she outted and to give up the life of lies she once led. 

Chelsea fits the description of a tragic hero because she made an error. A huge one. One that almost cost a boy his life. And with all of her old friends against her and some new ones to help her, she realizes her mistakes and tries to make up for them. By the end of the book, she was friends with the boy she hurt and even his boyfriend.

Speechless really taught me that the words you say can have a huge impact on another person’s life. A small blurb of gossip here or a not-so-teasing comment there, can hurt someone. I took a lot more away from this book than I had originally suspected and was happy to have this as my book number 3. 

The story of Chelsea being a tragic hero can be a learning experience for all who read this book

Reflection #10

Why We Remember Villains

For me it’s always been easier to remember the villain in a story or a movie. I don’t know if it’s because what they do is so horrendous, but I can never seem to forget them. Their actions seem to overpower the goodness of the hero.

Another reason why villains are so interesting to me is probably because they’re so different than the life I live. I don’t go out killing anyone, so when I read a book or see a movie about a serial killer, I’m always so shocked by their actions. They’re going to be what I remember because those ideas are just too foreign for me.

And finally, in some crazy twisted way, maybe we can relate to the villains. In the movies, whenever the antagonist begins to tell the story of why he turned evil, I always end up feeling sympathetic. It’s not because I agree with what they are doing, but I think that we’ve all felt underappreciated or judged. A lot of the times, it’s because of these feelings that someone becomes a villain. Deep down, we can understand why they choose the path of a villain.

Reflection #9

Speechless has been a great book so far. Although I'm not very far into it, there are three distinct parts that stand out to me as the "spot the moment" scenes. 

The first one is the part where Chelsea asks Tessa, a girl at a party, a couple of questions about a sneaky relationship with her best friend's boyfriend. Now that Chelsea has answers- and proof- she can black mail Tessa into doing something for her. I'm not far enough in to know why Chelsea needs Tessa, but I have a feeling it'll come back later in the book. What made it a big moment so far, was it really revealed Chelsea's character and that she's not as sweet as she seemed in the beginning. I'm predicting that this may be part of the reason Chelsea takes a vow of silence. 

My second "spot the moment" scene is where Chelsea tells everyone about a boy in her grade being gay. As she's narrating the story, she sounds reflective already, which makes me realize that she regrets ever telling anyone about it. Most of the story so far has been Chelsea gossiping and telling other people's secrets. I'm anticipating something bad to happen because of all the rumors she spreads. 

The next scene I got goosebumps reading. The boy the Chelsea outed for being gay ended up having to go to the hospital because he was badly beaten. Whatever Chelsea said to those guys at the party must have enticed them to go and beat up Noah.

 I'm really excited to see what the rest of the story has to offer and see what Chelsea does in reaction to this news.

Top Five Favorite Books Growing Up

My Top 5 Favorite Books Growing Up

1.       Mr. Popper’s Penguins 

 Growing up, this was my all-time favorite book. I could probably still re-read it today and enjoy it as much as I used to. Basically, this book is about a man who receives a penguin in the mail and after a few months another arrives. Eventually 12 penguins are a part of the Popper family and the book is all about how the family learns to love and get along with them.  I think I enjoyed it so much because it was funny and just a strange scenario to imagine. I recommend reading this book if you like funny stories and if you’re a kid at heart.

2. Harry Potter Series


I also religiously read Harry Potter from age 9 and up. Looking back now, it was kind of strange how obsessed I was, but definitely worth it. Harry Potter is about a boy who finds out he’s a wizard and the man who killed his family comes back to take over the wizarding world and Harry is the only one who can stop him. I liked the series so much because of all the twists the plot takes. Not to mention, J.K. Rowling does a great job a creating a clear picture in your mind. Read these books if you like adventure and a story that will always keep you wanting to know what will happen next. Don’t let the fantasy title scare you away.

3.       Two Way Street

My next favorite is Two Way Street. It’s about a couple, who recently broke up, going on a road trip together. I liked it so much because it was funny and was more than just a “romance novel”. The main boy in the story was hiding something and you had to get to the end to find out what it was. I would read this if you like quick reads and humorous stories. It has the Nicholas Sparks feel to it, but without all the sadness. It’s a great read and I still reread it now.

4.       I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You (series)

I still remember going to the book fair in sixth grade and picking this book out. I picked it up because I thought the title was funny but ended up falling in love with the books and the series. It’s about a girl who goes to a spy school disguised as a boarding school. She deals with life of being a teenager and going on secret operations. I liked this series so much because when I was little I wanted to be a spy. This book was my dream and to finally see it in book form, made it seem so cool. I would recommend this to any young girl who would like a funny story about an awkward spy girl.

5.       Christy Miller (series)

My friend showed me this series when I was in middle school and I couldn’t put them down until I was completely through them. The story is about a teenage girl finding her faith and dealing with the day-to-day life that any teenager goes through. When I say it like that, it sounds boring, but I promise you that it’s not. I liked it so much because I fell in love with the characters. My friend who showed me this book and I talked about them like we knew them. I was a great series that I would still reread today. You would like this book if you like realistic fiction and stories about faith. It also has a cute love story too, and that never hurts.

These books were my favorite things to read growing up and still have a place on my bookshelf today.

Book Project Number 2

13 Reasons Why in Photos

I read the book 13 Reasons Why, where a girl named Hannah Baker creates a set of 13 tapes, each a reason for why she kills herself. Instead of making tapes like Hannah, I created photos, each trying to depict the main reason on each tape which ultimately results in her suicide. 

Without giving too much away about the book, I'll just explain some of the photos that I took.

In the fourth photo, there's a boy peeking in on "Hannah's bedroom" and taking photos. Hannah explains how this guy from school was watching her and taking pictures of her in her own bedroom. The one place she could escape- her room- now felt violated and all of her privacy was gone. 

In the seventh photo, there's a brown bag with Hannah's name on it. In one of the classes she takes, people  put compliments from the day's discussion in the bag to support one another. Someone begins to steal Hannah's notes of encouragement, which leaves her feeling under-appreciated and depressed.

In the final photo, Hannah tries one last time to reach out for help. She talks to one of her teachers and when he doesn't give her the advice she needs, it confirms her choice to end her life.

I thought that since Hannah chose such a creative way to explain her suicide, that I wanted to capture the same things she talks about, just in a different way. The photos are supposed to represent glimpses in to her life of the things that contributed to her death.

Reflection #7

Can Non-fiction be a lie?

I think that in order for a book to be considered non-fiction or a memoir, they need to be 100% true. I don’t want to hear an exaggerated story or the twisted truth, when all along I thought it was real. If it wants that title, it should stick to the facts.

I think half-truths can make great stories. I think that’s where a lot of books come from- something happened to the author but they changed it to make it more exciting and worth the read. Books shouldn’t be considered non-fiction, if this is the case because the author is lying to the audience.

There should be a break between fiction and non-fiction. It’s like in the movies when they say, “based on a true story.” You can tell when that’s said, not everything is going to be true. In the book world, they could create a subsection under non-fiction, informing the reader what they’re about to get in to.  It lets you know that while some things did in fact happen- others did not.

 It can still be a great story despite the added scenes or lies - it’s just a matter of clarifying where the information came from.

Review

Where does 13 Reasons Why Fit?

I don’t think I could classify 13 Reasons Why as just one genre. It’s a tragedy and a thriller mixed with romance and mystery. There are just so many things happening throughout the book that you can’t just stick it in one section and define it completely.

It’s a tragedy because we’re dealing with a girl’s suicide letter (or tapes, in this case). It’s the story of why she decided to end her life and all the little things that piled up over time. Each tape tells a different story and is its own mini tragedy in itself.

It’s a thriller because it keeps you guessing. On the edge of you seat. It’s one of those books that you can’t spread out over weeks or months. It has to be read in the fastest amount of time possible because you have to know what happens. You want to know the ending.

It’s a romance because she tells about the first guy she kissed and talks about how- even though most of it was a rumor- her life was changed because of boys trying to take advantage of her. It’s also told from Clay’s point of view and he really liked Hannah.

Finally it’s a mystery. You want to know why Clay’s name is on the tapes. You want to know who else contributed to Hannah’s death. You have to figure out what contributed to her finally deciding to kill herself.

So where do all these genres fit? In the broadest section. Inside realistic-fiction. This is a story that could have happened to anyone. It just happens to be filled with complex stories that help build the book overall. That’s one of the reasons I think 13 Reasons Why is such a good book. You can’t define it in just one word. It’s a little bit of everything.

Reflection #6

My Favorite Genres

Some of my favorite genres that we discussed today are the thrillers and even though we didn’t really talk about it too much, romance. I tend to lean towards these because both are exciting and normally are books that you can’t put down. I like books that keep you wanting to know what happens next and I normally find that with the thrillers and romance books. I don’t think my reading taste has changed too much over the years because these are the books I’ve always picked to read. The only difference is that I don’t stick strictly to these genres anymore. I’ll branch out and try others, like the Hunger Games or Harry Potter, but I always find myself going straight back to these two. I normally stay away from the science fiction or fantasy novels because those just don’t interest me. I like stories about things that could actually happen. I find genre labels extremely helpful because I know what I like to read and what I don’t. If I had to start a book just to find out it’s about magic or science, I would be frustrated. I like walking into Barnes and Nobles and going straight to my section, and knowing that I’ll like what I find.

Review #2

The cover of 13 Reasons Why

I think that the publisher choose the colors of gray and black for 13 Reasons Why because it’s a dark book. It’s about a girl’s suicide message and if the cover was happy and cheerful it wouldn’t fit the tone of the book. The cover also shows a girl on a swing, and I never really got it until today. It’s from a couple of parts in the book, but the main character, Hannah loved the swings at this nearby park. Many of the people she talked about in her tapes and her shared a memory there. The summary on the back is really good at getting the audience’s attention. It introduces Hannah and that she killed herself, but it makes the audience want to know why she left the tapes and especially why Clay received one. It does a good job at not giving too much away, but also at drawing the reader in. If I could change anything about the cover I would probably show a couple of tapes because that’s what Hannah used to record herself. Another cool option would be to show a 13 faces, each looking guilty or upset. They could represent the people who Hannah mentions on the tapes. I would still keep the gray tones or have everything in black in white in order to keep the dreariness that comes with reading this book. I don’t think 13 Reasons Why was the best book I’ve ever read, but it definitely made me think. I feel like I could reread it and still feel the emotion I did the first time. I finished the book in one day, so that just shows that it was something I couldn’t put down. I had to know what why Clay was on those tapes. This was a great read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Reflection #5

Judging Books by Their Cover

I know I shouldn’t do this, but I judge book by the covers. I most likely won’t read something if the cover doesn’t interest me. Certain book covers that look futuristic or look like a fantasy novel, I stay far away from. Anything that has a vampire or werewolf, I tend to move right past as well. The things I do like the read are books with realistic people on them. Not a scene from the movie, I don’t like those covers, but maybe a cover with people flying a kite or running away. I like things that look like they could actually happen. The book cover for Two Way Street is a good example because it extends over both sides. On the front, is the main character and on the back is her boyfriend. I like it because it gives you an idea of what the book is going to be a about – a couple on a road trip, going through some trouble. Another cover I like is the cover of Along for the Ride because while it does show the cropped feet that Karen Heller talks about, it has bright colors and just looks like a fun read. I feel like the cover of a book can say a lot about it and that’s why I have specific things I look for on the cover, to guarantee that I’ll like the book.

Review #4

Adapting 13 Reasons Why

I think since most of Thirteen Reasons Why is an “audio recording”, it would make it difficult to be put on the big screen. The filmmaker would probably have trouble finding someone who could capture the emotion and draw the audience in all with their voice. A way to make this work is to have Hannah Baker narrating the flashbacks, but also show them as well. Instead of just following Clay around town, they could cut back to the scenes to show what she’s talking about. One scene they’d have to keep is the opening scene where Clay receives the tapes and how he reacts to hearing her voice for the first time. I feel like this was one of the most important scenes because it’s just days after her death and he’s hearing her voice for the first time since. It’ll be eerie and sad, but if they find the right actor to play Clay he can show just how important it is for Clay to keep listening. Another scene I think is essential to keep is the scene where Hannah cuts her hair. It’s a big thing for her and it’s the point where she decides that she’s going to commit suicide. I think that the hair cutting symbolizes her last cry for help and it’s important to show that she really didn’t want this to happen. Another important scene to include is the where Clay finally learns from Hannah’s messages and runs after the girl in the hallway. It’s the turning point for the book because Clay learned from Hannah’s death and you can see that with his actions. I really can’t decide on anything to cut from the book. Each of the characters was important because they contributed to her death and the audience needs every reason to hear why Hannah decides to kill herself. If they make a movie out of this book, it would be important to include just about everything.

Best and Worst Film Adaptations

Best and Worst Film Adaptations:

A small collection on which movies I thought were really great interpretations of books and some that weren't so great.

Good Interpretations:

Harry Potter Series -

Harry Potter was not only a fun read, but also an interesting movie series as well. Seeing the spells and the places the students would travel to, really made the books seem much more clear. I do think the movies missed out on key points from the book, but overall they did a nice job at making the highly loved fictional characters become real.

A Walk to Remember -

When I first saw the movie I remember thinking that the actors chosen to play Jamie and Landon were spot on. A good actor choice can really make or break a movie. Even after reading the book and knowing exactly what was going to happen, the movie captured my heart as well.

Hunger Games -

The movie was good at showing intense fight scenes and things the author had invented in a new way. I had my own idea of what they would look like, but when the movie came       out, it made everything much more clear. 

Bad Interpretations:

My Sister's Keeper -

My Sister's Keeper had such a great twist to the ending that you'd never see coming. In my opinion, the ending made the book. The producers changed the ending and I think it ruins the movie entirely. Now, if I hadn't read the book, I'm sure I would have thought the movie was just fine. But having those great expectations from the book only made the movie look bad in my eyes.

Dear John -

Dear John had the same problem as My Sister's Keeper. The book had a great ending, only to be changed when the movie came out. I didn't like the new ending and thought it really took away from what the book had to offer.

Project Number One - Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice: Comparing the book to the movie

I was sitting at home, trying to figure out the best way to do this project when I searched for my book, Go Ask Alice, on Google. I hadn’t realized when starting the book that it was also a movie, but was pleasantly surprised to find that YouTube had the complete movie available to watch. 

The movie was filmed in 1973, just two years after the book was originally published. Being set in this time frame, especially so soon after the book was written, brought it to life. The slang and the diction that could only be found in the ‘70s, made it feel more natural, than if it was filmed today.

The 1973 Movie

Overall, I thought the movie was a very good representation of the book. While it included some parts that the book did not have, I thought they were necessary. For instance, the movie added scenes that really portrayed how much of a struggle it was for someone with a hard core addiction to acid, amongst other drugs, to quit them. I thought the book was lacking this. When reading the book, it seemed that Alice was able to switch on and off her addiction, almost effortlessly. She would have a relapse, leave, then come back and have everything be fine. Never once talking about the emotional difficulty she went through to be off the drugs. I found this unrealistic. The movie also included scenes where Alice talks to a priest. He’s the one who persuaded her to call her parents and go back home. I really liked this scene because it portrayed Alice at her weakest point, and struggling with her inner self on how to survive. The priest, who is played by Andy Griffith, talks to her about calling her parents so she can go home. When she protests, he says, “It’s there or die.” This scene was needed in order to show Alice that if she doesn’t give up acid, she’s going to die. When hearing it as bluntly as Andy put it, it made the difficulty with addiction much more real.

2006 Version of Go Ask Alice
(Another was originally published in 1971)

Like any movie, it was lacking some key points that the book had. The movie was very vague about what happened when Alice took the drugs. While some of the details in the book are vulgar, they’re real and are necessary to the plot. They show just how much drugs change a person and I thought the movie was missing that emphasis. 

The New York Times says, “[Go Ask Alice is] a document of horrifying reality.” Knowing that the book is based on an actual diary, reading the words made you feel like you understood her world and seeing the movie, made you feel like you know her. Despite the fact that both were created over 35 years ago, the things in the book and movie still apply to today. In the end, because of this connection, I found the movie as timeless as the book.

Weekly Review #2

Last 45 pages of book -

I noticed that the author, who’s anonymous, has a very strong voice throughout the piece. In fact, I even noticed that as Alice moves on through life, the voice changes with her, adapting to her situation. For example, when she’s living with her parents in the beginning of the book, even though things aren’t the best at times, she writes in a happy go lucky way. After heading to the party where she takes drugs for the first time, I noticed that her preppy attitude leaves her, and instead enters a girl with a pessimistic outlook. She complains about the family she once was so happy to have. She runs away, more than once, to start life on her own. Yet every time she returns, so does her naïve personality. I noticed that every time she’s away and using drugs, she changes not only her character, by doing things she’d never do sober, but by changing her voice in word choice, attitude, and diction. Since the book is in diary format, it was easy to hear her talking; she was pouring her heart out onto the pages. In fact, Alice kept the notebook locked away in a container for fear that someone would read her secrets. That just goes to show that when she wrote about her life, she didn’t hold back, especially how she was feeling or thinking. That’s why I think her voice/ tone is so strong in this book. It’s really coming from her heart. Not to mention, this book is based off a real diary. When you think about the fact that these words didn’t just come from an author’s head, but from real life experiences, it makes the story more real. Actual thoughts and feelings come across the pages, altogether developing the voice in the book.

Reflection 3

To me, a book is an escape. It’s a chance to leave your world behind and jump into a new one. The characters become your friends. You begin to feel a part of their story. I think that’s why whenever you finish a really good book; you’re left with that empty feeling inside. When you read those final words, you’re reminded that you have to go back to your own reality and you were never really a part of theirs. Books, in a way, are like people. In the same ways you hear rumors through the hallway, you hear about the good books and the bad. It’s what urges you to go over and introduce yourself. Get to know the person. That person becomes a part of your life, and you become a part of theirs. Just like a book. And just like people, books come in different shapes and styles too. You might get along with a certain type of person and you might hate another. That’s why I don’t think it matters whether a book is on your phone or in hard copy. It all depends on what feels comfortable to you. In the end, the story is the same. What it looks like on the outside, shouldn’t matter as long as you like the story inside.

Reflection 12/04

We should continue to teach literary fiction but not so exclusively. I think this because while it’s good to have some experience with the “classics”, it doesn’t have to be everything that we read in school. For someone who doesn’t like to read, their dislike is only heightened because of the books the school chooses. Books in school should inspire us to read, yet in a way they are almost discouraging. It becomes a chore, especially with the amount of work tied into reading it. I think that more genre fiction should be added to the list. I also think that there should be more student choice in the books we read or maybe even a vote to decide. If we have a say in what we read, it’ll only make the experience better. I’m not saying that we should switch out Of Mice and Men for Twilight, I’m just saying that we could switch it out for a book that was popular in the more recent times so that the students can either relate to what they’re reading or actually enjoy what the school requires. I know, for me at least, it’s rare for me to say, “I can’t wait to get home and read my English book!” Yet with the changing of a couple classics and swapping them out for something more relatable, might change my whole outlook completely. Who knows? Maybe I’ll look forward to my next English book.

Weekly Review 11/28/12

As the book starts out, Alice is just your average girl trying to cope with a lonely high school life. When she tries acid at a party her whole life begins to change for the worse. So why does she give up everything that she has: a loving family, a best friend, and her school life, all for drugs? I think there’s more than one thing to blame here. I think that one reason could be the loneliness. Alice talks about how the drugs make her feel and how the drugs brought her the friends she never really had. Maybe with the drug life, it brought her an instant group of friends, one who didn’t care about her faults, especially when she was on drugs. Which brings me to the next reason. She always felt like her family was constantly judging her. The drugs made her feel perfect. For someone who’s always felt like they’ve never measured up, that sense of peace and strength that comes from the drugs could be the one thing that makes them feel special. Even if she could only feel like that for a short matter of time, it was worth it. There was finally something in her life to make her feel like she was special. When her family life and school life wasn’t bringing her that kind of relief, it’s no wonder she turned to drugs as an outlet to finally feel free. I’m not saying that feeling lonely or judged is an excuse to do drugs; I just can understand why she would choose the high of drugs over a life of pain. Once she states, “Once you’ve tried drugs, there isn’t a life without them.” So maybe the real problem here is the addictiveness of the drugs, because in the end there’s no escaping them.

Reflection 11/29/12

I think that all works have the chance to prize winning. The popularity or unpopularity of a work doesn’t make a book less artistic, it just means that it was finally recognized by winning a prize for its success. That doesn’t mean that all best sellers are works of art. They can simply be a fun read, one that everyone seems to enjoy. And maybe that’s the reason best sellers don’t win these literary prizes. They’re not meant to be the next Pulitzer Prize winner. Some are just meant to be a quick read or something to take your mind off of your day-to-day life. Take the Twilight series for example. They’re not extremely well written or award winners, but people really seem to love them.  So does a book have to be well written to be popular? No. But is it going to win any awards that way? Probably not. But that doesn’t automatically mean that all popular books aren’t well written. There are some out there, like  The Bible, that are extremely well written and very popular. I don’t think that popularity has anything to do with how well the book is written, it’s just all based on opinion of the reader.

Post #1 Why I Read:

Why do I read? I read because I like to. I read because it’s fun. I read because when you need somewhere to escape to, a book can take you there. And it doesn’t have to be realistic. It can be 600 years into the future or maybe 100 years in the past. Reading gives you the chance to be someone else. Be somewhere else. Reading can be anything it wants to be. I can sit down and read about a girl who’s just like me. Or maybe read about a girl fighting to save the world. It always gets me excited to see how creative others can be.  See how they twist the same words in different ways to tell a completely new story.  There’s something about the familiarity of books. While books all look the same, with pages bound together, they’re different. Each contains a story, true or not, and is waiting to be told. And when you finally break into those pages you’ll find the truth. Reading is inspiring. Depressing. Crazy. No matter what you’re in the mood for, a book can have it. I think that’s why I like reading so much. It’s always a new adventure.