The Sky is Everywhere #3

"The Sky is Everywhere", is a very interesting book. Now, school has ended and Lennie stays inside all the time. Her Grandma has tried to help her but Lennie pushes her away. She knows that by rejecting her grandmother she is hurting her, but people just didn't understand what was wrong with her. Days go by and she's still all alone, until one day the unexpected happens - Joe shows up at her home. He, along with his guitar are waiting right outside the door. She runs to hide while her Grandma opens the door. After a minutes Lennie finally comes out of hiding. "Shyness overtakes his face for a quick moment — it makes my stomach flutter." She never thought he would even try to get near her after te last time. The day goes on normally, except for the fact that she was spending it with Joe. Her grandmother tells him about Lennies mom, and she casually talks about her plants. After a while, Joe asks Lennie to play with him and she refused. He shrugs her off and starts to play. "wondering what it would be like to be cool and casual and fearless and passionate and so freaking alive, just like he is—and for a split second, I want to play with him." She starts to open up little by little. 

I remember last summer I was in a way like Lennie. Many things happened in my life. I closed up, froze my heart, and shut people out. I stopped trusting. It took a long time for me to open up, but when I did it was to my best friend. This person heard me whenever I needed someone. This person saw me on the edge of years many times. Although they didn't understand what went through my mind, they made sure I would always have a smile on my face. Some of the lessons that person has taught me is to believe in myself, because I am stronger than I thought. I learned how to trust again, although it took some time. At the end, all their effort was and still is something I appreciate. I would be stuck in a constant battle with myself if it wasn't for them. 

The Sky is Everywhere #2

In "The Sky is Everywhere", Lennie Walker is dealing with a lot. The loss of her sister has been something tough on her soul, but falling in love with her sister boyfriend seems a lot worse. Losing her othe half was a big toll on her life. "These two sisters did not have a mother, but they had each other." Lennie felt alone. Isolated. But the, she thought back to the kisses as shared with Toby.  He was always on her mind, the constant reminder of guilt and pleasure come back to hit her like a truck. Coming back to school was tough on her. She didnt want to be looked at as the girl who lost her sister. But a new kid, Joe, made Lennie feel something. He was the "perfect" boy. He was handsome and he played clarinet just like her. At first, she found him to be obnoxious because he was always so happy. Plus, the girl she dislikes is trying to get Joe. She try's to avoid him for a while but it's hard. One day at school, lunch time was something Lennie did not enjoy. Instead, she went to the forest behind the school and his on top of a tree. "He walks in confuses circles under me like he's looking for someone. I'm hardly breathing but he isn't moving on, has settle just to th right of my tree." Lennie didn't want Joe to see her. She thought she would look like a physco, considered the fact that she's pushing herself out of society. He notices she start to have butterflies in her stomach. They had a nice long talk up until Joe asked her to be first chair clarinet. Lennie is a great clarinet player, and Joe noticed that, but se never wanted to show the rest of the world that. " "I want to hear John Lennon play for real, I mean, who wouldn't, right?" His joke crashes and burns between us." She was overcame with anger, and him with frustration. Joe gets up and leaves. 

Lennie find herself conflicted. Not with anyone else but herself. Her guilt, her grief, and her loneliness. She wrote little poems and left them right where she wrote them. She wrote on pieces of paper, napkins, and paper cups. "I wish my shadow would get up and walk beside me." That was the only was she was able to get things off her mind. Remembering her kisses with Toby make her feel sick. "I see Bailey's face twisting in shock and betrayal as she watches us from above." Her head is everywhere. She can't even think straight. Will Bailey figure out what to do? Or will she keep making the mistakes that make her feel guilty? 

The Sky is Everywhere

This week I started to read a book about a girl who is in grief after her sister passed away. The book is called "The Sky is Everywhere". Lennie's sister fell dead one day, with no warnings at all. Lennie and her sister Bailey were very close, and losing her was very tragic. Lennie and Bailey lived with their grandma and uncle. Their mother had left them at a young age, and they only had each other. Losing Bailey was a big challenge in Lennie's life. She wanted to disappear into the wind. Everyone was trying to give her and her family their condolences, but she just wanted to be left alone. "I don't want to take the roads home, don't want to risk seeing anyone from school, especially Sarah, who informed me that while I've been in hiding, she's been reading up on loss and according to all the experts, it's time for me up talk about what I'm going through—but she, and the experts, and Gram, for that matter, don't get it." She feels as if her world has ended, and no one understands, but there is one person who does. Toby. The boy Bailey was dating before she passed away. He as well as Lennie, were going through a really tough time. After a while of not knowing anything about him, he shows up at their home. He was the only one to know how she truly felt. "I want to thank hi for not making me say a word, and getting it all the same, but I just remain silent as the sun pours hey and light, as if from a pitcher, all over our bewildered heads." Lennie knew her grandmother and uncle were also in deep despair, but she felt like Toby was the only one to understand. Lennie then starts to develop something more than the feeling of friendship, but less than love. She can't explain it to herself. She feels guilty and scolds herself for it, but she doesn't want to stop what she feels. Will this feeling affect everything between her and Toby? 

The genre of this book would definitely be, teen fiction or realistic fiction. Such tragedy like losing a family member could happen to anyone, and feeling isolated and alone is common if the person you lost was close. Lennie wishes people understood why she wants to be hidden, but people want to desperately help her. "Gram raises her hands in distress, and I go back to scibbling a poem I'm the margin of Wuthering Heights. I'm huddled into the corner of the couch. I've no use for talking, would just as soon store paper clips in my mouth." Lennie wanted everyone to back off, but people just kept trying to get her to open up. In real life, some people keep their feeling to themselves, because they feel as if no one will ever understand. Personally, realistic fiction and teen fiction combined are very interesting. When those to genres are put together you get to see either the pain one goes through in tough situations, or the way people deals with their problems. These genres show you many different perspectives from possibly the same problem. In "The Sky is Everywhere", we are showed how Lennie deals with the loss of her sister. But in other books, the characters may not react the same way. That is the mystery that realistic fiction and teen fiction hold. You never know how something plays out, and your life can just take an unexpected turn. 

Marganilized Native Americans

For many years, Native American's were pushed aside. People who were ignorant and judgmental, thought of them as reckless and violent. The pushing away went as far as taking the children of the Native Americans and sending them away to schools. At the schools kids were prohibited from being themselves, any Native American tradition, food, or language, was taken from them forcefully. Ota Kte was part of the first school for Native Americans. They stripped him of his nature. "His long hair was cut short. His leggings and moccasins were taken away, replaced by an itchy wool uniform and black leather boots that squeaked with every step." He felt like he wasn't himself anymore, he felt lost. He no longer could openly be himself. Everything started to effect the children in the boarding schools. In his school- the first one built for the stripping of Native culture -Carlisle, the children started to rebel against the teachers and staff. "Two girls tried to set their dormitory on fire. Others tried to run away." Children were becoming tired of the cruelty, they began to try and escape it all. It wasn't easy. The kid tried many times to get help but no one would listen. The people who did this to them thought that it was the best.

The essay was to describe the new life of the tribes. She talked about how Native Americans were not reckless beast, but in fact civilized people. She showed that there aren't many Native Americans around today, but they still keep their traditions. In her reservations people tried everything they could to keep the Native American spirit going. Shanice explains it's hard to Native American out in the open world, because there aren't many left. Now she is in college and it's rare to find someone like her. Although her ancestors past has been difficult, she doesn't let it affect her negatively. On the contrary, she embraced the past and showed that Native Americans are strong together. Never were they a danger to anyone. They were just different from everyone else. She holds no resentment to the past, she saw that people were just close minded. Her essay showed that Native Americans are different in their own ways, but that they are still normal everyday people.

Crash and Burn

I've finished reading "Princess Diana", and now I'm onto a new book called "Crash and Burn" written by Michael Hassan. We start off by meeting a kid names Steven Crashinsky. He is the kid who saved more than a thousand people on April 21, 2008. His name is now I'm everybody's mouth. He explains that now everyone treats him like he is a hero. Everybody wants to have Steven Crashinsky. "Only six months ago I couldn't get a third-rate college to accept me, even with Newman's incredibly well written essay, and then, surprise surprise, after April 21, a bunch of the first-tier schools that I applied to actually start recruiting me."  Although the only reason for his sudden recruiting is because of his "heroic" act, and not his grades or SAT scores, he doesn't mind. Steven then starts to explain that everyone calls him Crash, ever since he was young. Crash has had interviews with many, many television networks, but there is one thing everyone wants to know: the secret David Burnett told him before he called off his rampage. Crash always keeps his mouth shut. He always says it's between him and Burn. Now he is out with his friends, totally stone thinking of what to write in his book. His agent suggested he writes a book where he reveals Burn's secret. Sally, his agent, feels like this will be the biggest thing ever. "So not only did Sally manage to get a bunch of publishers interested, one of them agreed that I can say virtually anything I want in this book,", Sally is obviously overwhelmed by the book. Crash has his friend Newman help him being the book. Crash couldn't think of a way to write it. They both became stressed out and went to Pinky's to eat after they all became high. Now, when he is definitely high, he is having his brightest ideas and he knows how to start. 

Crash recalls how everything happened that day. He remembers walking past Burn the first time. He remembers his exact conversation with Jamie. He also remember that's he was going to skip school that day because he was wasted the night before. Every event of the day, he is able to recall. Every part. That day was not ordinary. A kid held the school at hostage with guns and bombs, and out of the thousand other people in the building, he was the only one who was able to stop Burn. Before he stopped Burn, he was told a secret by Burn himself, and that secret is in his mind every single day. That will be a very crucial part to it all. The only thing he needs to do before spilling the secret, is explain what happened that day and why he was the only one who stopped Burn. Will the secret destroy Crash's secret reputation? Or will it make Burn look like a psycho?     

Princess Diana #2

Princess Diana is a very inspiring person. There are many reasons for it. Starting with her work to help patients that suffer HIV, to her work with starving children in Africa. The book, "Princess Diana" by Joanne Mattern, shows us a lot of insight to The Princess of Whales' life. Last week I read about her life as a little girl. This week I read more about her teenage years. Diana wasn't very good academically. At age 16, like any other girl at the time, she took exams to see if she would go on with her studies. "Diana failed her exams twice and had to leave school." After failing, she was enrolled in an institute which taught girls things like: foreign languages, cooking, and sports. Diana wasn't interested in anything a her new school offered. She was one of nine girls in her school who didn't speak French. A few months later she convinced her parents it was a waste of money and time. She finally left that school. At age 18, Diana moved out. Although her wealthy parents, she decided to work small jobs like baby sitting. Surprisingly, many upperclass girls had the same type of small jobs that Diana had. She always had good chemistry with kids. She assisted a teacher 3 days a week. "She was very good at getting down to the children's level," said Kay Seth-Smith. He owned the school with she worked in.  She absolutely loved working with the children. She remembered those years as the funnest years of her life. 

Princess Diana was also known as the People's Princess. She is well known for the way she's brought attention to things. For example, she brought attention to HIV and the use of landmines. Learning about her earlier life, before she became a princess, showed me that she is a very independent person. When she was a born, her parents expected a boy. They weren't very trilled. At times she even felt guilty for not "pleasing" her parents. Diana and her younger brother recalled their childhood to be very unhappy. "raising the children fell on nannies, servants, and tutors. Diana's brother later recalled that he never sat down to a meal with his father until he was seven years old." She had a very lonely life when she was young. Also, her parents divorced when she was young, so she was always divided between both parents. Those years encouraged her to do things on her own. When she failed school she wanted to live on her own. "Diana was eager to be on her own in London, but her parents insisted that she was too immature and could not live on her own until she was 18." Once she turned 18, she immediately moved out with 3 other friends. From there on, her adventure began.   

 

Princess Diana

Princess Diana is an inspiring person. I just started to read the book called "Princess Diana" which obviously talks about her life. She was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham. She was the third child to Edward John and Frances Roche. Her parents hope she would be a boy. They waited for someone to take over the family name and money. But when she was born, they were disappointed to know she was a girl. "Diana knew her parents loved her, but she always felt unwanted. Even when she was very strong she knew that her parents had been disappointed that she was not a boy." Diana explains how the whole situation made her feel. Her parents also divorced when she was young. Her father got complete custody over the kids. It all started after the loss of their son. "Diana had many painful memories of the divorce. She sometimes heard her mother crying when the children had to return him to their father." This was a big impact on her and the younger brother named Charles. They were both not really close to either parent, so everything was going to be a bit odd. 

Diana's parents didn't really make her life much easier. She talked about how she didn't want to seem like she was favoriting any of them. "She worried about showing favoritism for one parent over another if they gave her new clothes to wear." She also remembers hearing her mother cry when they had to go back home. She already saw the conflict between her parents, she didn't want to cause more. Her parents divorce was something painful. It caused her to think worse of things after feeling like a disappointment to her parents.