Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Pages: 348 out of 348 (finished)
Prompt: Analyzing the impact of imagery and figurative language have on the meaning and tone of my book

     The style of this book is clearly stated in the first chapter of the book when it introduces the main characters and the setting. The author's style was to include pictures from classic literature books every time he explained some kind of imagery in the page. The book overall doesn't include as much as 50% of figurative language it seems that the author wanted to focus more on imagery instead of using literary devices. I was imagining that the tone of this story would be sort of positive as the main character Grandpa Portman explains that the home was everything a child could dream of and using words like "marvelous" and "fantastic". I felt like the imagery impacted the tone more than the figurative language as the climax develops around the time when Jacob Portman travels to a mysterious island to find the truth about this "peculiar home". The comparisons in the book show the horrors of life during World War II and they compare the hideous hollows to the murdering Nazis.

      The photos in Miss Peregrine's album create some kind of imagery in the reader's head in order for the reader to process the threats that these peculiar children have. I noticed that author's style was to include a sentence that had figurative language but also created imagery inside a reader's head. For example "to have endured all the horrors he did, to have seen the worst of humanity and have your life unrecognizable by it, to come out of all that the honorable and brave and good person I knew him to be was magical". The imagery that shown was that these poor children have seen houses being blown up by the Nazis over and over again but that they had become honorable and brave to finally confront the hollows. The quote kind of develops the character traits of Jacob who was first seen a spoiled child but now has become a hero to this children after seeing the horrors of this world and the worst of humanity. The imagery mentioned in this quote shows that the mood might be suspenseful or  thrilling because of the adventures mentioned by another character called Emma.

        The tone starts to get darker after Miss Peregrine tells Jacob about the wights who are even worse than the hollows. The figurative language that she uses gave me goosebumps and it even made me skip the photos. The description created a horrifying image in my head when she said that their eyes were "as white as the Milky Way". Miss Peregrine also says that these monsters appear like a common person who eats peculiar children and they disappear like fog after a storm. The imagery created by these details made the tone even darker than before because it leads to the death battle between Jacob and a wight. The wound of Milliard a peculiar child gives me the idea that this book is young adult and it even lightens up the tone. In the book he says "will you quit shouting and let me bleed in peace." The language created some kind of humor in the book but the imagery of the wound gave me a sick feeling and a dark mood even in the end.
   

The description of the wight changed the mood from adventurous to a darker tone based on the figurative language and imagery. In the middle of the book she mentions that his eye was "as white as the Milky Way" and that he could "appear like a typical person". In my head I was imagining a monster who kidnaps children and destroys them just for their power. The picture above shows a wight in disguise which even lead me to skip this page entirely.

This week I will comment on Stanley, Jenna, and Citalli's Blogs. 
                 
   
   
         

"Life Changing Books"

1. Embraced by the Light  By: Betty J. Eadie
This book is my all time as it explains what happens to person after death. The author is able to change the reader's perspective on religion and how the negative activities you do in life can effect you even in the afterlife. I used to question my religion as to the reason why family members or friends had to die so suddenly. After I read the book I learned that the author is trying to teach us that every person on earth has some kind of mission. When your mission is done that means you are able to precede in the future that awaits in the afterlife. The book has created a better person inside myself and has given me the reasons that I needed to live a better life.



















2. A Separate Peace By: John Knowles
When I first saw the cover of this book in my mind I was thinking that this was going to be another boring classic book. I started reading the first few chapters just to see the form of this book and the author John taught me the importance of friendship in just a few words. The thoughts that are conveyed in this book showed me the worries of World War II and the thoughts of losing a best friend forever. I read this book when I was in 7th Grade as part of my traditional literature list which teaches more than just vocabulary but also that nothing get in the way of a true friendship.

3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close By: Jonathan Foer
The title actually says it all when someone dies in something extremely loud they will always be closer than you can ever imagine. I learned more about the aftermath of 9/11 and the sadness of families once united but now separated. It tells the story of a young boy named Oskar who loses his father in the 9/11 attacks. The text in this book is so creative that in some pages the words actually create images from your head. I would say that this book is meant for a 7th Grader or older as it shows how one tragedy can lead to something unexpected.

4. Bomb the Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon  By: Steve Sheinkin
When I was reading this book at the same time we were learning about World War II in social studies. The facts I learned in class expired me to do some further research on the events leading up to the end of the war. I was able to analyze the facts of the atomic weapon in order to come up with a conclusion that building this weapon was sort of like a competition. The author explains that the decision of dropping this weapon was kind of like a dead end. If you dropped it thousands of people would die if you don't drop it people will also die.

5. Small as an Elephant   By: Jennifer Richard Jacobson
I would say that this book has changed my opinion on my parent's decisions and how a chain reaction can be created by one little incident. I think that the author Jennifer created this title to show that we are small as an elephant but with the help of numerous strangers we can be as big as the world. I feel like the author was trying to teach us that anyone can help out a person who is need like the stranger who helped Jack get back to his family. I read this book for Battle of the Books and this book was definitely between family and surviving. 

6. Life of Pi  By: Yann Martel
This epic novel filled with adventure in every page even though some of the chapters are only 1 sentence long. I have to admit that this was a bit challenging because it analyzed the imagery of the book and it made the reader discuss the character's feelings or emotions. The descriptive details of the character Pi and his survival in the Pacific Ocean with a tiger made me feel grateful for my family and for what I have. It taught me how to overcome adversity and the bond of two people even though one of them is not human. The faith and perspective of Pi's religion truly shaped this book.

7. I Am Malala By: Malala Yousafzai
The incredible journey of this young girl starting in Pakistan and ending up as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. I feel like what impacted me the most was the powerful speeches of Malala in the United Nations and her struggle to provide education for young women her same age. The determination of Malala is inspiring to others like myself who want provide a better future for kids like us. When I finished reading this book it kind of inspired me to improve the school conditions in Mexico. My favorite quote in the book is "one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world".-Malala

8. Wonder By: R.J. Palacio
A person should not judge a book by its cover as well as not judging a person by their face. This sentence I just mentioned is basically the plot of Wonder when a young boy named August who has a facial deformity struggles with the troubles of elementary school. The book was part of a book club that was formed in my Star class last year. The anger. happiness, and determination of August made me reflect on people from the 21st century. We as people have the urge to criticize and the story of August created a visualization of a world where no one criticizes which means everyone is happy. The end of the book taught me the lesson that having the urge to speak up can lead to great things in the future.

9. The Five People You Meet in Heaven  By: Mitch Albom
This is the most recent book I've read which means it's still fresh in mind. The basic lesson that the book teaches is meeting random strangers could leave an impact in their future. The author Mitch provides evidence that proves it when the main character Eddie is sent to heaven after he was killed in a deadly accident. He meets five people from his past his wife, army general, Ruby, the blue man, and Tala. The Blue Man was a complete stranger that Eddie met during his childhood when Eddie was almost run over by him. This inspired the stranger to improve his life little by little as he sees that he must value his life every minute.

10. Marley and Me  By: John Grogan
I couldn't really relate to this book due to the fact that I don't have a pet but after I read Marley and Me it gave me the feeling that dogs truly are man's best friend. The tragic story of Marley will leave readers crying but also reflecting on their past or present experiences with dogs. He might have been trouble maker but his heart was always filled with love and kindness. The book mentions that "love comes in many forms" which is true but we as humans fill to learn how to take care of the other inhabitants of earth. Instead becoming friends we are turning enemies. I think that having pet will impact your life forever as it provides you with love, kindness, and support.

The Gift Summer Blog

Pages: 333 out of 333
Prompt: Prove the theme of what you are reading

                 Introduction to The Gift

    I started the series by James Patterson back in January when I started reading the first book Witch and Wizard. I have to say it was pretty amazing but a little too magical for me because I prefer less fantasy theme books. The Gift starts off with the execution of Wisty the teenage which who is the most powerful witch in the Overworld. She is the leader of a rebel alliance called the Resistance a group of teenagers and young children who fight for the freedom of their world. It wasn't always like this but after the evil dictator decided to put children in labor camps, death camps, or experimenting with them by turning them into wild beasts. The dictator's name is The One who is The One a man who has the ultimate power of the wind, water, and all of humanity. He vaporizes young Wisty only to discover that he actually didn't kill her, in fact he made strong. Wisty turns into a human torch which eventually burns the entire stage. Before the enemy kills her she is rescued by her brother Whit.


                 Major Theme of the Book

   When I read the first part of this book I just couldn't theme, I felt like James was doing too much explaining instead of developing the theme. In the middle of the book I felt like the theme was bravery or creativity. If I had to choose I would mostly likely choose bravery mostly because who would imagine a 14- year old girl fighting off a man with the power of the universe. Wisty and her brother Whit have enough courage to fight the evil forces of this world and lead kids to victory. The bravest thing that Wisty does in this book is when she avoids the temptation of giving her special gift of power to The One who is The One. There is a lot of evidence to prove that the theme of this book is bravery starting with Wisty surviving the vaporization of the One to ending with saving her brother from the tsunami of The One.  I'm actually going to start with the middle of the book by explaining the leadership of Wisty and her fight to help her people. When I say people I actually mean kids.


                          My Evidence and Point

      In the beginning of the book there isn't too much evidence too prove my point but it seems the middle is the most suspenseful. The Resistance's headquarters is in a abandoned store called Garfunkel's a place that is in the border of Freeland and the New Order Territory. The New Order starts to bomb the headquarters but likely their leader Wisty leads them through an underground tunnel which can hide them for a short amount of time. This proves that bravery plays a large role in the book by showing the leadership of Wisty to help save hundreds of kids which can mean sacrificing her life to a bomb. Later in the book Wisty and her brother are trapped by the Kill Team lid by their frenemy Byron. He gives them three choices either the three of them die , Wisty gives her gift of power to the One, or Wisty escapes while her brother is killed. This kind of shows bravery because Wisty is willing to die for her brother. Instead Wisty and Whit transform themselves into fish.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven Summer Blog 4th

Pages: 196 out of 196 (finished)
Prompt: If you had to choose a moral from the book, which one would you choose? Why?


            So Far in The Five People You Meet in Heaven

   When I took this book from the shelf it seemed short but once you open it one page feels like 1,000. The last part of this book is very shocking by revealing new secrets never told and people we haven't meet from Eddie's past. In my previous blog I mentioned that Eddie still has to meet three other people in heaven and I feel like these complete strangers impacted Eddie's life without him knowing. The setting was previously in a battlefield in some Japanese island but it suddenly changes to a snow mountain with a diner on the top. He notices that inside the diner it is filled with people that have been to Ruby Pier mostly complete strangers. Eddie is about to leave the diner when he suddenly witnesses his father sitting in a boot smoking one of his endless cigarettes. He decides not to approach his father after all Eddie's father refused to talk to him before he died. A strange force pulls him away from the door a woman that seems to be in her 50's dressed 60's style.

                      My Favorite Moral from this book

   This might not be a shocker but this book has exactly five morals that can help us in our daily lives. In the book every time Eddie meets a new person they give some moral at the end of the chapter that affected their lives when they were on earth. The saddest encounter was when Eddie meet in the fourth person which was actually his wife. They go through allusions of weddings from all over the world because they all teach the same thing whatever the language. The moral she teaches at the end of the chapter is that "love is never lost even in death." This might seem confusing but this actually tells the truth and in fact it can even heal the wounds of those who have lost a loved one. I'm very religious which makes me believe a lot in the afterlife and our meaning on earth. When I think of afterlife I automatically think of heaven the only place in this universe in which love keeps people floating. We as humans feel a cloak of sadness when someone dies but we never know when we'll meet them again.


              The Other Morals in the book and My Explanation.

    I mentioned before that there were exactly five morals that can change our lives the same way they changed Eddie's life. The first person was the Blue Man a man who died due to the clumsiness of a 7-year old Eddie. The moral he teaches is that "one way or another we are connected to each other". This basically saying that we might meet stranger one day but our presence impacted his life without us knowing. The other tow morals are "we need to make sacrifices" and  "release anger and learn the power of forgiveness." In the past I have read a lot of books that have to do with near death experiences which made me choose the fourth moral. When we're alive we might never see a person we love because they're are in another country or simply just still alive. When we think of that person the love connection between the two is never forgotten it's just simply in another place. I advice people that have lost a loved one to just imagine them in heaven living an eternity of happiness.

Glass Summer Blog 3rd

Pages: 681 out 681
Prompt: What advice would you give to the main character of the story?

                 So Far in Glass

   I was surprised when I read the other half of this book because I imagined that Kristina would improve her life but she just made her life more terrible. She is no longer buying drugs from Robyn she decided to purchase the drug from a Mexican crime lord who kills people that don't pay him back. Kristina figures that she'll just borrow money from her mom. The bad news comes to her later in the afternoon that Kristina's mom kicks her out of the house but her mom will still keep Hunter. She has nowhere to go after Trey has left to finish his college career. She just decides to rent a room in the house of Trey's cousin a person who also does the same drug. He feels that by letting Kristina in to his house, his daughters can have a motherly figure which can heal their pain of not having a mother. This is not the bad part of the book yet Kristina decides to go back home just for dinner which eventually just leads to her calling her mother a bunch of bad words and taking Hunter.



                    Serious Advice for Kristina/Bree

    I feel like Kristina needs to make something out of her life instead of throwing it away by consuming deadly drugs. The first piece of advice I would give Kristina is to spend more time with her son Hunter by the end of the book 1 year old Hunter doesn't even recognize her. I mentioned in my summary that she takes Hunter without the permission of her mother, but this mother and son bonding is just torture. Kristina decides to buy an apartment and live like a normal family with Hunter and Trey. This is no ordinary family in fact they should even consider the name family. While Kristina is doing her drug a chair falls on Hunter causing him to bleed and suffer. Later in the afternoon Trey comes back home drunk yelling at Kristina for bringing the baby and all sorts of nonsense. The next piece of advice I would give to Kristina would be to just make her mom the legal guardian of Hunter in order for him to grow up like a normal child. I would also to Kristina to reflect on how the monster has destroyed her family.


                The Monster is Invading Kristina

  The two pieces of advice I mentioned in my previous paragraph had to deal a lot with family and the early years of motherhood. I think that the next advice I'm about to offer can seriously change Kristina's life by making her better person in both attitude and physical appearance. I would definitely advice Kristina to give up the drug in order to save her from the Mexican cartel. I mentioned before that Cesar the leader of the cartel gets rid anyone who doesn't pay him back. In fact I would take Kristina myself to drug addiction place or a therapist to help her with her addiction. The next piece of advice I would tell Kristina is to get a job in order for her to pay back her loans. In the beginning of the book she had a job in a 7-11 across the corner but she quit due to the behavior of her manager. The last advice I can give to Kristina is to put family before her relationship with Trey. She dumped her family during Christmas and Thanksgiving just to see her boyfriend Trey. At the end of the book Trey dumps Kristina and well they end up in jail. 

The Five People You Meet in Heaven Summer Blog 2nd

Pages: 100 out 196
Prompt: Explain how disappointments can have a good meaning

                  Introduction to the Five People You Meet in Heaven 

     When I first read the title of this book I thought that it was going to be very religious by explaining major people from the bible. I was originally only going to read like 20 pages but the book was so interesting that I couldn't let it go. The book starts off with "the ending" instead of proper introductory chapter but I later realized that it was the end of a person's life which starts a beginning in heaven. The first few chapters tell the story of Eddie an 83 year old World War II veteran who got wounded in the war and was left being the maintenance manager of Ruby Pier. One normal day in the amusement park, the carts of one of the rides starts to fall. A little girl watching this horrific event is about to die when one of the carts is about to fall on top of her. Eddie pushes the girl away and the cart lands one him killing him instantly. He finds himself in a strange place where he feels no pain, worries, or sadness. A Blue Man appears to Eddie in which he claims that he played an important role in the life of Eddie. The Blue Man tells Eddie that he will be confronted by five people who changed his earthly life when he was alive.


                         A Disappointment that Changed Eddie

    I picked this prompt because it can easily relate to the main character Eddie. During his life he suffered a major disappointment that changed his life and his point of view of life. While Eddie was in the war he was assigned to a squadron of four other people including a fierce but brave Captain.  It was a dark day light less in which the squadron had to fight off Japanese soldiers in military bases within small Japanese islands. They are suddenly captured by the enemy in which they are taken hostage for nearly a year. One of Japanese soldiers kills someone from the hostage but that just led to the escape of the others. Eddie stays behind because he hears a child's voice inside of one of the burning houses. He decides to go in but he suddenly shot in the leg and taken back to base. Eddie was very disappointed that he didn't save the child, but heaven he learns that if he had saved the child, the Ruby Pier would be destroyed without the maintenance of Eddie.

                  How the Captain Disappointed Eddie

    Well, if he had saved the child, he wouldn't be able to dedicate his life to the children of the amusement park. He explained in the book that he loves children and he was forced to work in the amusement park after his leg was shot. He later learns in heaven that the Captain was the one who shot Eddie's leg in order to prevent him from dying. Eddie was extremely angry with the Captain because he couldn't do anything the rest of his life due to his wounded leg. As we can see Eddie was disappointed that he got a wounded leg but if the Captain hadn't shot him he would have been dead 60 years ago. There is a good meaning to this disappointment because imagine if Eddie died in that fire he would have never gotten home to his beloved Marguerite. If Eddie died in the fire he couldn't have gotten married, witness his family again,or save the child from the amusement park when he was 83 years old. In my opinion I think that disappointment do have a good meaning especially in this book.

      Watch the Five People You Meet in Heaven Trailer

Glass 6/2-6/6 Summer Blog 1st

Pages: 340 out of 681
Prompt: Explain how you and the main character are different by your attitude towards your family

                 Introduction to Glass
  One month ago I wrote a blog about the first book in the series called Crank and when I finished that book I felt like I had to find out more about the life of Kristina. The first book leaves off with Kristina struggling her early years of motherhood as she has just given birth to her son Hunter. Luckily Kristina decided to give up for a short amount of time the monster (drugs) which made her life a whole lot simpler. When I read this part of the book I felt like Kristina is taking advantage of her parents especially her mom. The early parts of the book is just explaining Kristina difficulty getting used to having a baby, going to college, and dealing with her obsession with the monster. The birth of this child has given Kristina the chance to give up her addiction but shortly she searches for her friend Robyn. The dangerous thing about this particular friend is that she produces the drug and the main reason why Kristina has a huge addiction. She learns that Robyn is living in an apartment with her roommate Trey the future husband of Kristina.


           Major Difference between Our Response Towards are Families.

    When I look back at the personalities of Kristina I feel that we have a bunch of major difference when it comes to family. The first difference is that Bree/Kristina take advantage of their parents by leaving her baby with them while she drugs herself to death. When Kristina's mom lends her money for baby accessories she spends it on drugs or simply she never pays her back. One example that can support this claim is that once Marie Haskins (mom) gave her daughter $500 and Marie also gave Kristina an extra $200 as a baptism gift for Hunter. When this episode ended Kristina still demanded more money she even yelled out that her mother was cheap and lazy. If my parents would give me money I wouldn't accept it because I'm thankful that I have a roof under my head instead of accepting the green money. Another example is that if it were my birthday and my parents took me out to dinner. When we get home they still give a $50 dollar bill I wouldn't accept it because the dinner was enough to satisfy my ways.

         Another Difference Between the Two of US

   The next difference I will mention might not affect me right now but it would certainly affect me in the future. In the book Kristina decides to go out on dates instead of staying at home taking care of her baby which is kind of irresponsible. When her mom calls her to check on the date Kristina doesn't even ask about her baby Hunter she only cares about her mom having cash. If I were dad in which in this case there is no mom because she abandoned the child. I wouldn't go out on dates I would rather stay at home taking care of an infant, I would leave the dates for when I was in my teen years. Another example is that Kristina spends more of her time negotiating drugs and going out with drug dealers instead of trying to get her master's degree. In the beginning of the book Kristina mentions that she has been studying hard for her master's degree. I would personally study, work, and do whatever is possible to receive my master's degree instead of throwing away my life by doing drugs. The thing that got stuck in my head while I was reading this book was to imagine myself in the head of this drug addicted teenager.