Eleanor and Park in the form of informational text

Eleanor and Park is a story about two high school students who fall in love.  However, it is not the stereotypical characters that we have here.  Eleanor is everything but cool in 1986: frizzy, curly, wild, red hair and seemingly no sense of style; Park is almost the epitome of cool without being painfully obvious as he has an "in" with the cool crowd but doesn't really take much stock in hanging out with them.  Eleanor begins school in the middle of year, which is the worst time to be a new student.  She is forced to sit next to Park on the bus because everyone has already staked out their seats and is the only one nice enough to offer the seat next to him.  While these two seemingly polar opposites are destined to be anything but lovers, they slowly fall in love and bond over comic books.  We get both of their thoughts on the situation along with small glimpses into their home and personal live which are not too pleasant, especially for Eleanor.  As we get more pieces of the puzzle, we come to find out why Eleanor and Park are the way they are and what leads them to be attracted to each other.

Perfect Chemistry (part 2)

If you could be like any character in this work, who would you be? Explain.

I would choose Brittany, simply because I admire her strength so much.  It's admirable for a 17 year old to completely ignore the status quo and her friends' opinions and do what's best for her.  I know I wasn't like that at 17 and I still struggle with what everyone else wants for me versus what I want for myself.  Brittany is a teenager who was forced to grow up too fast and faces scrutiny much like that of a celebrity on the front pages of a tabloid magazine.  She must make choices that will change her life in big ways, like where she is going to college and the fact that she's dating someone who's in a gang and from the wrong side of the tracks.  She shows that it's okay sometimes to be selfish and to ignore what everyone else is telling you and take the leap to make yourself happy.  I can't imagine having to make some of the choices she has to make, being an adult, but definitely not at 17 years old.  While her peers are busy focusing on which college they want to go to, Brittany is juggling her parents' scrutiny, her sister's disability and lack of a caretaker, and her friends' opinions on every aspect of her life.  Brittany may seem like the stereotypical blonde cheerleader who has everything, but after reading a few pages of this book and getting to know the character, you find that she has many characteristics that are enviable and admirable.

Perfect Chemistry (pp. 1-119)

Do you share any of the feelings of the characters in this work?  Explain.

 Perfect Chemistry is one of the hottest new YA novels, especially with girls, and I can see why.  While the content is not for younger audiences, older teenagers will really be able to relate to the characters.  It has the stereotypical blonde, rich, pretty cheerleader who's dating a varsity football player and the other guy from the wrong side of the tracks who happens to be in a gang.  While this sounds old and outdone on the surface, the more you get into this book the more you realize how rich the characters really are on the inside and you start to wonder about the people you went to high school with who seemed to have it all.

Brittany is the character that I can really empathize with, despite the fact that I do not have a sibling with a major disability.  However, because of this, she is constantly at odds with her parents over her older sister, especially when they talk about sending her to a facility after numerous failings by various caretakers.  Brittany's college decision even revolves around her sister as she feels it is her responsibility to take care of her because of a special connection that they share and because of her patience.  My grandfather was recently put into a nursing home permanently and while I know this is the best place for him to because of his growing dementia and other unrelated health problems, it kills me that he has to be there.  Every time we visit him I want so badly to take him home and be able to live there full time to take care of him.  However, he lives in Greenville and this option is simply not viable for me or any of our other family members.  He needs care 24/7 which includes getting to the restroom along with the fact that he is prone to falling.  I know that he understands and would never ask any of us to give up our routines to live with him full time, I still feel guilty that I cannot.

Brave New World, con't.

First reactions:

Whoa.  I knew this book was controversial but now I see why!  It would be difficult teaching this to high school students but I think it is something they need to read, especially now with all of the advancements in medical technology.  Huxley's science fiction world is slowly but surely coming to fruition and it is works such as these that students need to be exposed to more than ever.  I was excited to read a book that is commonly on the banned books list but honestly, I don't see why it is.  Sure there are some controversial issues, but they aren't any worse than what Toni Morrison includes in some of her novels which are commonly taught in high schools today.  Of course, I'm not knocking Morrison, I just wanted to use her as a comparison.  I'm really excited to finish this book as it is hard to put down and I can only imagine how exciting the ending is going to be!

Brave New World-Aldous Huxley

Do you like this piece of work?  Why or why not?

Oh, man.  Brave New World is definitely one of the more heavier books I've read but lucky for me, I am really into dystopian fiction.  After reading chapter 3, I couldn't help but keep reading into chapter 4.  It's hard to put this book down but I find myself almost needing to because it's such a downer!  It's almost as if it wasn't written in 1938 because it seems so current, which is the scary thing.  Overall, though, I am really enjoying Brave New World despite the disturbing events and subject matter involved.  The way that the children are conditioned based on their social class is just mind boggling and when the Director is talking to the students about the game they are playing and how he doesn't understand "fun".  What really blew my mind, though, was when one of the head honchos showed up unexpectedly and he was thinking to himself about the rumors swirling around that he hides away ancient books and Bibles.  I can't imagine a society where Bibles are considered ancient and authors like Shakespeare aren't revered!  So far, though, I don't really understand why this book shows up on banned book lists.  I was expecting a really graphic description of the children and their sexual encounters but its vagueness is what surprises me the most about why it's banned.  The way Huxley has his characters discuss this isn't perverted in any way; in fact, it's more that they look down on such primal urges and that people actually used to copulate to produce children.  The students are so embarrassed at their ancestors that it seems they don't even like to think about such an atrocity.  I'm really looking forward to delving deeper into this utopian/dystopian society that Huxley created and he does a great job of revealing just enough at a time that keeps the reader wanting to read more in order to find out the secrets behind this society.

Uglies, con't.

Overall what kind of a feeling did you have after reading a few paragraphs of this work? Midway?

 I'm about halfway through Uglies and the plot took of very quickly.  The beginning was a little slow, as many books are when they are introducing the characters and the plot, but it seems like the real action came out of nowhere.  One minute, it's the last day of being ugly for Tally and then Shay is trying to convince her to run away to The Smoke with her.  After Shay decides that her efforts have failed, she leaves for The Smoke on her own.  Tally is sad that her friend has left but is excited about her becoming a Pretty at the same time.  She finally arrives at the hospital and after waiting for an hour, Special Circumstances take her away to the outskirts of the city to ask her about Shay and The Smoke.  Tally told them she made a promise but her best friend Peris, who became a Pretty a few months ago, has heard rumors about Tally's situation and turns up in her dorm room for a visit.  He reminds her of the promise she made to him that she would get the surgery and they would be Pretty together.  He also reminds her that they promised to be best friends forever.  After talking with Peris and her parents, Tally changes her mind and Special Circumstances wants her to travel to The Smoke to become a spy for them.  She feels bad about having to betray Shay but she keeps in mind that if she doesn't help Special Circumstances, she'll have to break her promise to Peris and be an Ugly forever.  She makes a tumultuous journey through the wilderness and is picked up by the Rangers who take her to the drop off spot for people going to The Smoke.

This is where I stopped but I read about 100 pages and it was hard to put down.  I was constantly on the edge of my seat, waiting on what would happen to Tally next, especially when she was first introduced to Special Circumstances.  This novel has really kept me engaged from the beginning and I really hope the author explains what happens to the Rusties and what Special Circumstances will do with the people who live at The Smoke.  I'm also anxious to find out if Tally will change her mind after seeing Shay again and if she will actually like life at The Smoke.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Overall what kind of a feeling did you have alter reading a few paragraphs of this work?

Uglies instantly hooked me.  I love dystopian works and this is the epitome of dystopian.  I haven't gotten too far into the book but I already feel that I am deeply involved in the plot and the characters.  We're introduced to Tally who is quick to tell us about her society in which teenagers, upon turning 16, get surgery to make them "pretty".  She's telling us about her best friend, Peris, who has just become a "pretty" and she's lamenting the fact that they have to live in different places although she can see New Pretty Town from her bedroom window.  She's miserable without her best friend and she has to wait 3 months before her 16th birthday so she can be a pretty herself.  She decides to sneak into New Pretty Town which is apparently very dangerous and she's risking her opportunity to become a pretty, which would result in her being "ugly" forever.  After successfully sneaking in via the only bridge that can't tattle on her due its age, she accidentally crashes a party in the most humiliating way possible.  On her way to find Peris she finds a pig mask on the street in order to disguise herself but the party at the building that Peris lives is, of course, black tie.  Not only does she bring attention to herself, but a group of pretties decides to follow her and taunt her.  She finally finds Peris who doesn't recognize her at first and she is overcome by his physical changes.  She thinks to herself how much she has changed in the short amount of time that he became pretty and remarks on his changed personality as well.  After being outed as a party crasher, Peris helps her escape by telling her to jump off the roof of the building using a life jacket type hover device.  After narrowly escaping the guards, she makes it back to the bridge and meets another ugly who had snuck into New Pretty Town to spy on her friends.  They decide to cross the river together back to their ugly lives and I unfortunately had to leave off here.  This book, in the 20 pages that I have read so far, is fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat through the entire first chapter.  I love books that hook me from the beginning and keep me wanting more after only reading one chapter.  I can't wait to see what happens to Tally and Shay (her new friend she met at the river) and how they traverse their ugly lives together.