Hurricane Song

Right now, I'm re-reading the book Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi. Hurricane Song is a memoir written from the point of view of a Katrina survivor. As I'm reading Hurricane Song I'm receiving a feeling of darkness, hunger and a feeling of desperateness. The main character Miles and his father don't have a great relationship. They fight often, they don't talk very much, and you can feel the awkwardness between them as the reader. The setting takes place in the Super Dome, a place where everybody tries to go for shelter and safety. So many terrible things happen in the super dome such as suicides, rapes, lack of bathrooms and food, robberies, that it's difficult to think of it as a place for safety.

After reading this book for the first time, it was extremely difficult to process what actually happened during hurricane Katrina. As I''m reading this book, I'm realizing that it is so important to know what's happening around us. People everywhere are suffering from huge tragedies like this. What upsets me is that no one actually cares. I think that Hurricane Song taught me to think about the way other people are living their lives, and how they are deeply suffering.

Wake By Lisa McMann

Wake by Lisa McMann, is a story about a girl who's cursed with getting sucked into people's dreams. Janie has many problem's because of this. Janie gets depressed and some of the time, into a lot of trouble. Janie doesn't want to talk to anyone about it because she's afraid society will judge her and not believe her. Janie is stuck in a deep hole and can't find her way out of it.

There could be many deep and difficult reasons why this happens to Janie. Janie herself doesn't get enough attention from her mom who spends her time smoking and drinking. I think that Janie feels the need to help other people. Janie doesn't get to live a good life at home. Maybe she doesn't want other people to end up the same way she did. I'm thinking that the dreams she gets sucked into represent her in some way. Maybe it could be that she needs to learn something. Maybe it could be a problem that she's facing in her life. Janie doesn't spend time paying attention to herself. I think that's why she has so much trouble. She spends to much time figuring out what's wrong in her life (in her subconscious mind.) She's processing all of this through other people. Maybe if Janie just focused on what was going on then and there, she wouldn't be going through all this pain.

People usually have trouble coping when there going through rough times. Janie's probably going through a stage in her life, where she doesn't know who she is anymore. I think that this is Janie's way of coping with the struggles that she faces.

Wake Response

In my previous post, I talked about the emptiness in Janie's life. It's clear that there's something wrong that's happening in her life right now. It could be with her family, peer pressure or just a problem in her life. 

When you have the feeling of emptiness, it's clear that somethings missing. I think the issue that Janie faces in her daily life, is fitting in with others. It would be hard for anyone to fit in when their called "white trash." People, especially children can be very intimidating. For example, when kids are in school, and their not wearing something "fashionable" they can easily be spotted and then get picked on, and then not fit in which leads to the problem of peer pressure.

This also leads to the issue of "social norms." In society, people can be cruel. Things are only looked at from one point of view. It's hard for people to see things the other way around. Boys have to wear this and girls have to wear that, and that's just the way it is. Things aren't allowed to change. In one point in the book,  Janie's having a sleepover with 2 friends. One girl judges Janie on something that she's wearing. Janie reacts in a way that her face gets really red, also keeping what she has to say back to herself. She's afraid what other's will say back. And that comes back to the topic of fitting in. The norm that Janie faces in her life is fitting in.

Wake By Lisa McMann

This book is down right addictive. I just started this book today and I really enjoyed it. Wake, by Lisa McCann is a book about a young girl who gets pulled into other people's dreams. A lot of these dreams are quite disturbing, and it makes me think, why does Janie gets pulled into these particular dreams.

I think the dreams that Janie get dragged into represent her life in some way. Even though I haven't gotten far, I can predict that Janie doesn't have a very good life at home. It seems to be that her mother doesn't give her a shoulder to leans on. Her mother is obviously not supportive of Janie. When Janie was feeling sick her mom just walked away. I haven't heard anything about a father yet, so I'm wondering if Janie gets enough attention as a child. I have a feeling that the sexuality in the dreams she's been dragged into represent an area of weakness in her life. She needs somebody or something to fulfill the feeling of emptiness in her life.

Social Action: Sold

Sold, by Patricia McCormick is a really thought provoking book. Sold is the type of book that you never want to put down, but at the same time, you want to throw it onto the floor and stomp all over it. Sold is a book about girls who are pulled into a world where men physically harass them. This is a word wide issue for young girls that needs to be stopped as soon as possible.

As I read this book, I realize how fortunate I am compared to many people. There are so many people who have to sleep in the freezing cold streets at night with no blankets at all, when I can sleep in my own clean bed. I realize that their are many things my sister and I take for granted, and it's not fair.  There are people out in the world with no food or water what so ever. 

Reading this book, many questions come into my mind. Why are their men out there that want to hurt young girls? Why is their such a punishment as starvation? Why do people have to go through this types of issues when I'm protected by my family and people around me? Why is it that we are all equal but other's still have to go though these issues? It's not fair that young children have to experience these types of things, and I think we should all try to do something to stop it.

Before I Die: Jenny Downham

Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with threatning side-effects, Tessa organizes a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. This list is a very life changing thing for Tessa.

The kinds of ideas on Tessa's list, are problems and peer pressures that children face when they go through the issues Tessa face. They don't exactly have to be what Tessa's going through, these things can occur when there are family issues, friend ship troubles, or a death of someone you loved very much. The things Tessa puts down on her never ending list are huge themes in life that can deeply affect a young person. Drugs, physical abuse, shop-lifting and smoking are examples of a few. 

I don't think it's fair children have to go through these issues to satisfy themselves when a problem comes up. A lot of kids are affected by these things, and there parents don't even know. I have a friend that reminds me a lot of Tessa. When her dad died, she went through the pressures that had spread across her mind. She thought that drugs would take her mind off of things for a while. Instead, it made her life way worst. This reminds me a lot of Tessa, because it's the same type of thing that she went through. It hurt's me to see kids go through this type of thing, and I wish there was a way to stop it.

Elsewhere

This is a book that I've previously read over the summer, and is now my favorite book of all time. Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin, is a book about a huge theme in life that everyone experiences at least a few times in their lives. Death. Death is something huge, and can be very scary, but interesting to write about. This is why I loved this book so much. It talked about death, but included other important stuff, like love, friendship and family.

When I experience a loved one passing away, I get scared and don't know what to do. In Elsewhere, I feel very differently about that. It seems to be a whole new world, kind of like a second chance, to perfect what you've done wrong in your previous life, and to understand and look at concepts in a different and new way. I feel like it's not so scary when you die. Maybe it is for the people who love you, but it's like a new magical journey just for you. 

I've always wondered about everybody's thoughts on what death is. What does death really mean? Why does it have such a huge affect on us, and why do we care so much? These are thoughts that I've thought about while I was reading this amazing book.

Childhood Favorite Response

     My favorite childhood favorite was The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I loved this book in so many ways, and so many different reasons.
     This book is full of journeys. I feel like this book brings back memories of childhood. When somebody believed in magic, it was okay. Nobody would be teased, or be hurt because of what other people thought of them. I feel like books filled with love and magic open up our imaginations in a whole different way. They also open up our eyes to the world we live in, and the glitches that take place everywhere.
     I feel like this is an amazing book to talk about more complex feelings. Not exactly feelings, but a mix between themes, feelings and mental respect. Magnificence, care, accomplishment, fairness, bravery, courage and love are all the characteristics of being a "king" or a "queen." I feel like in this case, that the king and the queens are the heroes, the ones who display courage, self sacrifice and are changed by the journey. This book is filled with different archetypes.