Divergent.

Divergent was one of our summer reading books, and out of the required choices, I'd say it was may favorite. When it began, it was just one of those books that I had no clue what was going on, but figured it out eventually. After Tris switched from Abnegation to Dauntless, that was mainly when I started to get super interested in the book. Towards the beginning when they mentioned she was "Divergent" I honestly didn't really understand. I was just like cool. But once I read on, I found out why that was such a crucial part of the book. Then came Four. When Four was around Tris those were probably my favorite moments, because they were so darn cute together. When I learned that he was Marcus's son though, I wasn't really surprised, because as soon as I bought my book, I skipped to the last page and knew some things.

Towards the end of the book was when I really started to get worried about Tris. She'd been warned that  what she was, divergent, was not safe and it just left me sitting there knowing that something was bound to happen based on that. So, then the end of the book occurs, when everyone wakes up and turns into killing machines. Scary. So during this all Tris finds Four and in the process of trying to get away she gets shot. At that point I was freaking out. Then they get taken to Erudite, and Four is given this serum that makes him forget who Tris is. Skipping to the end when all of her parents are gone and she's getting away with Four, who is in his right mind once again, I just sat in my room saddened that this book had ended. I don't know why I loved this book so much, but I just did. With all the suspense, romance, happiness, and those deep moments; it honestly just all came together perfectly in my opinion.

Free Post - 2

   Something that has recently happened to me was probably when I went to the Apple store the other day. My mom had to go to the genius bar, so I was playing on one of the iMac's with my friend while waiting for her to finish. We were talking about Vines that we found funny, and we thought to search up this really funny one on youtube. So we pulled up this vine, of basically a baby in a diaper, dancing to the beat of the song "Earthquake". We didn't realize until it was too late, that the volume was all the way up. This resulted in the song basically blasting with a diaper baby dancing on the screen, and us frantically trying to turn the volume off. Quite frankly I think the song from the video made the whole situation ten times more embarrassing. Considering the computer was blasting "drop like an earthquake". The workers around us found it amusing, and I found it quite embarrassing. After that, I just decided to stick with playing temple run on the iPads. 

Reading Response - Outside Reading

      The book that I've been reading is Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita. My main question as I'm reading this is basically, what's going to happen as a result of the plan that Kaitlin has concocted. So far as I've been reading, I understand why she created this plan. I've also seen how, since Kaitlin is a big Hollywood star, her life is different from the typical teen. These observations all lead to this plan, which is basically her going into a regular high school, in disguise, and being a regular teen. As far as I've read, this plan is very humorous while at the same time, it leaves you wondering how long she can keep this facade up. This plan isn't as easy as it sounds though. She has this typical teen life, which involves school, the work that goes along with school, and also the people who she associates with at school.  She also has her normal, paparazzi infested life. Full of memorizing scripts, attending events, and trying to control the rumors circulating America about her. Sound easy? Not at all.

     On the other hand, I've have really enjoyed this book so far. It's got everything that I enjoy, when reading a book. There are plenty of amusing moments, there's just the right involvement of a lacrosse player, and there's the reality of the story to where you can kind of picture it happening. It's also a series which is always a good thing. Another thing I also like about this book, is the way that the author writes. It's kind of fluent in involving a humungous amount of events, without overwhelming the reader.

The Daughters - Joanna Philbin
8/19/13 - Pg. 210- 267: 34 minutes
8/20/13 - Pg. 267- 288: 20 minutes
Secrets of My Hollywood Life - Jen Calonita
8/21/13 - Pg. 1- 46 : 27 minutes
8/22/12 - Pg. 46- 87 : 25 minutes
8/23/13 - Pg. 87- 100: 15 minutes

Independent Reading.

The Daughters [Joanna Philbin]:
8-13-13: 1-57 (35 minutes)
3-14-13: 57- 96 (25 minutes)
8-15-13: 96- 145 (30 minutes)
8-16-13: 145- 187 (20 minutes)
8-17-13: 187- 210 (15 minutes)

This Year.

      So far, English has seemed like a pretty good course that I will have to take this year. I'm going to have to try hard in this class though, I can already tell. In terms of the way that the class is set up, I like the environment. For my other classes they all seem the same as this one. But, one thing that all teachers have said is that basically it's very important that you keep up with your work. If you fall behind, then that obviously won't be good for my grades. They all have basically made their expectations pretty clear.

     With the switch from Middle to Upper school, I'd say I've gotten the hang of the new environment pretty well. I honestly like it way better than middle school, one main advantage is we have a lot more freedom. The daily schedule that we go by is also very different, and I just like it better for some strange reason. I think it has to do with the fact that after lunch, I can be happy that there will only be two more classes for the day. I just think the overall schedule makes the day go by faster.

   My expectations for this year are pretty normal. Basically do my best. In terms of goals, I aim to be able to stay on the honor roll for all four quarters, which I think will be easier said than done. But, I have a feeling that if I apply myself well, and try hard, that I can do it.