Final: Past, Present, and Future

Hey everyone! This is going to be the final thing I will posts onto my blog for the school year. This is my second semester final for English. I hope you guys like it!

How do the things you read influence what you write about or how you write it? The books I read influence what I write because as I am reading, I am getting some fresh topics to write about in great detail. When I read a book, I sometimes fantasize what will happen next, or what I wish to happen next. Those are some good topics for blogs. When I have enough solid info or things to say, then I write about it. Like the Lit Circle Letters we have to write to our partners who are reading the same books. I read a total of 4 books that involves writing Lit Circle Letters. The books include Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce, The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, and An Alex Rider Adventure: Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz. Out of these 4 books, the book I hated the most was The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time. It wasn't that I hated it, it was more the fact that it isn't my type of book. First, I like dogs, so why would I read about a dead dog. Second, I only read teen fiction. This was not very interesting, and I found that it did not grab my attention. This made it hard to write about because I didn't have very much to say, and I didn't have very many facts and information on this book to blog about. This made how I write different from my other blog posts because I had to find some way to make my blog post reach all of the requirements, like reaching the number of words needed for each blog post. Then my writing style drastically changes when I start taking the long way. What I mean is that each and every sentence has extra words in them. They contain words that aren't needed unless they need to make sentences longer, but contains the same meaning. I had to use this writing style many times because I usually don't have anything to say and I needed to make 500 words for my Lit Circle letters. I hope that in the future, I will eventually stop using this style of writing and start writing everything in my usual style. That will show how greatly my writing skills have improved over the years.

How do you like having a blog? How has blogging changed the way you write, the way you think, or the way you think about writing? Do you plan on continuing to publish writing on your blog this summer, next year, or beyond? If so, what are your writing goals and how will you use your blog in the future? I like having a blog because it is a fun way of writing for school and you can greatly improve your skills as a writer. It also allows you to easily share your writing with the people around you and get feedback on how you can improve in your writing even more. You can also see the writing styles used by the students around you to greatly gain experience. Another reason for why I like blogs is because we don't have to sit around and write boring essays and read the boring class books. Blogging is a way to express yourself and write about anything you want with any style you want. Essays have topics you need to write about and you can't go, "Oh my gosh, did you see this person going to the mall yesterday with that guy? They looked totally cute together." You can't write like that. You must follow the basic rules to writing a an essay.That is why I prefer blogging rather than writing an essay. Blogging, however, has not changed the way I think or the way I think about writing. I learned throughout the school year that I like blogging. It is a way to write about anything you want, so I have decided to continue blogging even after school is over. It might not be as often, but I guarantee that there will be at least 1 or 2 new posts after the school year is over, depending on how busy my schedule is. I don't really have any writing goals. I just want to do it for fun. It is also a way to keep in contact with some of the people in my class.

Where do you get your ideas for blog post topics? What inspires you to write? That is a good question. It depends on the timing. Like sometimes I am reading a really good book, so I have lots of things to say. Other times, there are important events in my life that gives me the motivation to keep on writing. For example, when I was reading The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, I learned that I really like the book. This gave me the inspiration to write my own version of the book of how I want the story to go. I called it, The Journal Of Chloe Saunders. When I wrote Part 1 to The Journal Of Chloe Saunders, and reread it, I truly believed that this was my best blog post throughout the whole school year. It showed how much my writing has improved throughout the year and especially since last year. It was fun writing about a book that I liked, and changing it to the way I want it to play out. When the idea first popped into my mind, I thought it would be very difficult to write, but it turned out to be very easy, and I liked writing that way. It was a fun experience. The events in my life that inspired me to write were important things like holidays to birthday to weddings. The most recent events were things like my Uncle's Wedding or the birth of twin boys on Cinco de Mayo. At first they inspired me to write, but in the end, I didn't have enough information to write with, so I then moved on to random things like writing about what Melissa Chung is wearing to they bug bites on her body. One of my most accomplishing series of blog posts that involved writing about a part of my life is, My Alaskan Cruise 2009. This series of blog posts included a weeks worth of fun in the Alaskan sun. It was technically considered my very first blog post so it is very important to me. Part 1 in Juneau, Alaska, was written on my birthday, so that one in the series was super important to me. To sum up what I have just explained, I basically get my topics from everywhere around me. At the beginning of the school year, I had a very hard time finding a topic to write about, but as time moved on, I eventually got used to writing blogs posts and eventually, things got easier too because now I have experience and practice with them.

That's all I have for you folks today. Hopefully I will have some time this summer to write and I hope you guys will be there when I start writing again. See you guys next time. Until then, see ya!

Monthly Review #3: Alex Rider Series by: Anthony Horowitz

Hey everyone! This is my third monthly review. I plan to write about the whole Alex Rider Series because it wouldn't make sense to write about a book that is near the end of the series. It would definitely not make any sense to you guys in the audience because you wouldn't understand a word I'm saying. Think of it this way. If I started telling you guys a story, starting from the middle, would it make any sense? No, it wouldn't, so that is why I chose the WHOLE series to talk about. And just between you and me, it would be a whole lot easier to write about because i have a good 6 to 7 books to write about, not including the eighth book I still haven't read yet. So, let's get started.

For what audience(s) is this book intended, and how can you tell? (In other words, for whom would you recommend this book?)

This series was intended for children because most adults are not interested in reading a book about a teenage spy. They read spy books, but not teenage spies. I would recommend this book to teens because some teens can relate to Alex's problems. The problems I am talking about are not spy related, but family problems. Alex has lost both of his parents at a very young age and was living with his Uncle and "caretaker" Ian Rider and Jack Starbright. He loses his Uncle and is then pulled into the spy world of MI6 British Intelligence. OK, OK, it is about spies. So anyway, as he goes from mission to mission, accomplishing them with flying colors and coming back home with cuts and bruises, he learns more and more about the death of his parents. So anyway, teenagers can relate to this minus the spies part because some kids loses their parents in accidents or other ways. Teens would be better fit to read this book because they are old enough to realize and accept what happened to their parents. The younger kids might not be ready and wouldn't want to read about some one's parents being killed, even if it is a fictional character. It might bring back bad memories and they might not be able to handle it. That is why this series is directed at teens. The adults would find this series to be boring and not exciting enough. To me, this series is amazing. I hope they will come out with new books. I might try to read The Power of Five series also by Anthony Horowitz. So to end my statement, I would recommend anyone who enjoys reading adventure, spies, teenage life, and mystery novels to read this series. I can guarantee you that you will love this series. Their is even a movie for the first book in this series, Stormbreaker.

Find out about the author. How did they end up writing this particular book? Is the author's true life reflected in the book in any way(s)?

I tried to research Anthony Horowitz and why he wrote this book, but all I find is his other books and series like The Power of Five. The only thing that is closely related to this question is that his family fully supports him and helps him in writing and creating his books. His wife, Jill Green, has produced several of his scripts like the drama serial, Foyle's War. This drama won the Lew Grade Audience Award in the year 2003. One of his two sons, Cassian, is a seasoned actor and has appeared in three of Anthony's shows. Nicholas, Anthony's other son, helped in creating Alex Rider by researching all the skills Alex knows, like scuba-diving, snowboarding, and surfing. So in a way, Anthony's true life is his family, and his family is part of the reason Alex Rider exists. So therefore, his life is indirectly reflected in the Alex Rider series.

Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.

If I was forced to choose a character from this series and write about that person in great detail, even though that is exactly what is going on right now, it would be of course, ...*drum roll*. Alex Rider of course. What do I say about him. Maybe a quote would be better at describing him.

And already they knew. He had glimpsed it in the eyes of the diver who had spoken to him. The disbelief. These men―the helicopter, the aircraft carrier―had been rushed out to rendezvous with a module that had just reentered the earth's atmosphere. And inside, they had found a boy. A fourteen-year-old had just plummeted a hundred miles from outer space. These men would be sworn to secrecy, of course. MI6 would see to that. They would never talk about what had happened. Nor would they forget. (Snakehead book 7, Chapter 1, Page 3)

This quote makes me think that the secret intelligence is using Alex and not appreciating what he is doing for them. He was blackmailed into working for MI6 when his uncle, Ian Rider, was killed. Since then, he has completed 6 missions successfully, but each time, they find a way to make Alex agree to take on the mission, and each time, they send him in unable to protect himself. They don't allow him to carry a gun to protect himself. They treat him like a child when they're the ones who wants his help. Luckily, Alex has one true friend in MI6. Mr. Smithers.

Smithers is a protagonist who has appeared in all of the novels, as well as in the film adaption. He creates the various gadgets for MI6 agents, a role similar to that of Q's in the James Bond films. It is often implied that Smithers is Alex's only genuine friend at MI6; in Eagle Strike, when Alex attempted to convince MI6 to investigate Damian Cray, he was ignored by Blunt and Mrs. Jones, but Smithers nevertheless supplied him with a high-tech bicycle that played a crucial role in Alex's investigations, and in Ark Angel Smithers took time out from his holiday to provide Alex with new gadgets when the CIA requested Alex's assistance in investigating the father of a new friend. (List of Alex Rider characters, Wikipedia)

Another quote to prove my point about how Alex is used and manipulated by MI6 is

"I don't know, Jack..." Alex looked at the ice cream, melting on his spoon. He wished he could explain how he felt. He didn't want to work for MI6 again. He was sure of that. But at the same time... (Snakehead book 7, Chapter 5, Page 58)

This quote is from my lit circle letter of Snakehead. This quote proves my earlier point because Alex clearly said, in his head, that he doesn't want to work for MI6 anymore. Or any other agencies to that matter. He just wants to be a regular schoolboy, but he can't because the way ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Services) manipulated Alex into agreeing to do the mission in book 7, was to have the God father he doesn't remember, Ash, to work together on the mission. The reason he is with ASIS and not MI6 is because shortly after the murder of Alex's parents, Ash did some papers and dropped out of field work, but later decided to leave MI6 and emigrate to ASIS. In the other books to the series, Alex is manipulated and used repeatedly like a tool that can just be replaced if broken. This is what describes Alex Rider.

That's about all I have for my third and last monthly review for the school year of 2009-2010. I might continue doing the blog, but most likely I won't continue the monthly review. So this is good bye for now. Please check out my blog once in a while to see if there is anything new. See you next time. Until then, see ya!

Quickwrite # 3: The Rules of Love...?

Hey everyone! Here is the quickwrite that I did yesterday and have to post today.

1. What rules dictate the behavior of young men and women in relationships today?

Don't hurt the ones you love. If you truly love the person, then you must be willing to let her go. Don't cheat on them. Treat them the way you will treat yourself. Treat them like a person, not a play thing where you can dump them when you get bored. Don't keep secrets from each other. Relationships are all about trust. Respect each other. Protect them. Make them happy, smile, and laugh.

2. Name a situation in which the rules have clearly been violated. In other words, what are the things "nice girls" just don't do? What are things "nice guys" just don't do?

I don't know. They don't cheat on their boyfriend/girlfriend. They don't go and find someone to mess with and dump them when they're bored. They don't mess with people's feelings.

3. What are the possible consequences for breaking these rules?

Girls/guys won't trust you anymore. You might end up hurting the one you love. You will get in trouble with your parents. You will be killed by the friends of the one you hurt. You might be pushing the one you love farther away from you.

4. Where do these rules come from? Who "invented" them and who enforces them?

These rules are basic common sense. They are the unspoken rules everyone should know deep in their hearts. There are new rules everyday with each new experience. Everyone who truly believes in love enforces them.

That's the end of my quickwrite. Thanks for reading it. Please don't laugh. I had no idea what to write about. Oh well, I'm just glad it's over. Come back next time. Until then, see ya!

Book Review #1-An Alex Rider Adventure: Snakehead Book #7 by: Anthony Horowitz

Hey everyone! Here is the first letter, to anyone who wants to read it, for the last Lit Circle book of the year. My book is Book 7 of the Alex Rider Adventures. I hope someone comments on this. Just an FYI, I don't have a Lit Circle Partner, but it's all good because I can work independently. So now lets begin.

The first part to my book is right after the end of book 6. It is about a 14 year old boy named Alex Rider. He was blackmailed into working for the MI6-Britain's top secret intelligence agency. His father, uncle, and godfather all worked for MI6. But then both his parents were murdered by Scorpia, the top terrorist organization in the world, when he was only a few years old. Then when he was 14, his uncle Ian was shot and killed by a contract killer, Yassen Gregorovich. Since then, Alex has been used countless times like a puppet on strings. He has been recruited by MI6 and forced to investigate Lebanese millionaire Herod Sayle, who plans to kill all of Britain's schoolchildren with his "Stormbreaker" computers. His next mission was to investigate Dr Hugo Grief, a South African scientist who runs Point Blanc, an academy in the French Alps. He later foiled a Triad plot to fix Wimbledon games, and is in danger of assassination, so he is forced to leave the country, and MI6 sends him on a mission to Cuba with the CIA, where he encounters a former Soviet general, Alexei Sarov, with plans for a nuclear holocaust and world domination. Soon after he finds himself with Damian Cray, a world-famous pop star, who hopes to destroy the world's drug-making countries by hijacking the United States' nuclear arsenal. Suspicious of him, Alex takes Cray on without the help of the skeptical MI6. His 5th mission takes him to the criminal organization "Scorpia" to find out the truth about his father. On his most recent adventure, he finds himself working for the CIA a second time to gather information on Russian billionaire Nikolei Drevin, who is financing the space hotel "Ark Angel", and the eco-terrorist organization, Force Three. Now finally we come to the 7th mission where so far, Alex has been recruited by the Australian Secret Service, after he has just returned to Earth from space where he destroyed the Ark Angel before it had the chance to crash and kill hundreds of people at the Pentagon in Washington. His newest mission leads Alex to his godfather, Ash. Ash was the closest friend to Alex's father and was there the morning his parents were killed. He originally worked for MI6, but later emigrated to ASIS. In order to make Alex agree to help, ASIS partners Ash and Alex and has them flown off to Bangkok so that they can investigate the snakeheads who is a ruthless gang that smuggles drugs, weapons, and worst of all, people. Their job is to replace the father and son, Karim and Abdul, and secretly investigate the snakeheads while they are smuggled back to Australia.

"I don't know, Jack..." Alex looked at the ice cream, melting on his spoon. He wished he could explain how he felt. He didn't want to work for MI6 again. He was sure of that. But at the same time...

The meaning in this quote is always repeated in every one of the Alex Rider series. Alex is always used, manipulated, and his life is treated like crap. He is always asked for help, and one way or another, they eventually get him to agree. But once he agrees, everyone starts treating him like a kid. They don't care what happens to his life as long as he cooperates. They don't give him weapons to protect himself. How can they send a child somewhere where he can't fight on equal grounds with them?

That's about all there is in part 1 of my book. Come back next time to see part 2 of Alex's latest adventure. Until then, see ya!

Twins!

Hey everyone! Welcome back. Happy Cinco de Mayo. Today I would like to write about a family friend who happened to give birth to twin boys today. They are so cute. In the picture above, Erik, the oldest of the 4 is on the bottom bottom right, Bejamin, the 2nd child, is on the bottom left, and Jackson and Jason are on the top. I have no idea which baby is which. They are the 3rd and 4th child and they look so much like their older brothers. If they were the same age, I swear they could be quadruplets. As soon as I walked into the room, I saw Erik and Benjamin, then I saw the twins. I looked back at Eric and Benjamin, then the twins again and was like, "This is so creepy. Are you sure you didn't make clones of Erik?" After that, I went over to Diana (The mother) and asked her which baby is Jackson and which is Jason. Samantha, the oldest daughter of my Auntie's, was holding one baby and Diana the other. They stared at me for a long time, then looked at the babies, then at each other. Then they said, "We're not sure which one is which. The only way for sure is to change their diapers." I stared at them and said, "This is off to a swell start. Good luck taking care of them. I think it would be easier to take care of them rather than to figure out which baby is which.

What else should I talk about? I guess I can talk about What I've been up to at school. I have 2 math projects, a chemistry final project, blogs, lit circle letters, Spanish homework, math homework, history homework, a history project, and a history test. I am soooooo busy. I also have to work on Tuesday and Thursday after school. I need to meet up with my group for the chemistry project after work and I am exhausted when I get home that I don't have time to do the regular homework assignments. I don't even have time to read, and I love reading. I am running out of things to talk about.

Just to let you know, I am sitting next to the coolest person. Ever. Her name is Melissa Chung. She has about 10,000 bug bites on her body. The other person is Grant Placencia. He is working on a Geometry Scavenger Hunt. Melissa is chatting with her friend, dragonboi1020. Curtis Cheung (Gurfis is a Dufis) drew a kid committing suicide on the chalkboard in room 204. Now he is playing a video game. Amanda Huang is doing her sophomore research paper. Curtis just lost in his game. Curtis's hair looks gross. He is wearing brown sweater with jeans. Brown hi-top converses. He just lost in his game again. He sucks at it. Surprisingly he doesn't have any food. Now lets talk about Melissa in great detail. She has a bug bite on her right cheek, right under her eye. She also has many on her arm. She is wearing a purple shirt with a purple, striped tanktop, under a white jacket. She also is wearing jeans and blue and green checkered socks.

Yes I finally finished. I was running out of random stuff to say. See you next time when I talk about my Uncle's Wedding. Until then, see ya!

Monthly Review #2: The Last Song by: Nicholas Sparks

Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back to read my monthly review. Like I told you last time, I decided not to write about The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time. I want to write about The Last Song by: Nicholas Sparks. Just so you guys know, right now I am extremely tired and got home an hour ago and just finished dinner, so please excuse me if I made mistakes. I will go over this again when I am less tired and make the corrections, so for now, just bare with me. So lets begin my review.

For what audience(s) is this book intended, and how can you tell? (In other words, for whom would you recommend this book?)

I feel this book is more for teen girls because it has teen drama and romance in it which most guys I know don't want to read. There were parts in the book where I cried, but I can't tell you why because it would spoil it for people who have not read the book yet. The drama included people getting arrested, arson, love triangles, and the usual. Use your imagination if you don't want to read it, but it is a really good book. I recommend it to all teen girls. I mean, we all need a few tears now and then. I read so many books that made me cry and that tells me the author did a really good job writing the book because I was able to visualize it in my mind and it felt like I was watching a movie. I would cry because most of the time it was because the book was about teens who have been diagnosed with cancer or other diseases and died. Even though they all were similar, they were still different in their own way because they each had their own story to tell. So anyway, the guys might like the book, but I doubt it. They usually read about action or nonfiction, so I will just stick with the girls.

How would you describe the author's style of writing? What's your opinion of the style?

I like the author's style of writing in this book because in the beginning, he started out near the end of the storyline, and had the main character reflect on her events during summer that changed her life. Then he went back the the very first day of summer and from there, he alternated between characters. So it would be Ronnie (Short for Veronica and the main character), then it would sometimes be Steve (Ronnie's dad), other times Will (a guy that I'm not going to talk about), and once in a while Marcus (a strange and freakish teen). He alternates between the characters so we will get a feel of what each character is feeling. And as you continue reading the book, you learn about things that happened in the past or you see one event in different perspectives. It's like one moment your reading about how the church accidentally burned down, and later on in the book, you learn from a different perspective about how the church burned down by one of the characters (again I would love to tell you guys everything, but then you wouldn't want to read the rest). I personally like this style because it makes you feel that more than one author wrote this. And also when you read the book, you can tell how differently they all think. One moment your reading about girl stuff, and the next it's about cars or something.

Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth.

The character that was the most interesting to me would probably be Steve, Ronnie's dad, because no matter what situation he was in, he was always calm and he listened to his kids. He didn't judge them, he always believed them. He always does what's best for his kids. He let them do whatever they want because he knew they were good kids. They were responsible and smart enough to make the right choices. Even when Ronnie was arrested for something she didn't do, he stayed calm and listened to them. He's not the type of person who interrupts their children and grounds them without hearing their side of the story first. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer which spread to his pancreas and lungs. To keep his mind off of the pain, he decided to play the piano. He loves the piano almost as much as he loved his children. He used to teach at Juilliard in New York, and he was Ronnie's first piano teacher. She used to love the piano as much as he did, but when he 'left' his family, Ronnie's swore she would never play the piano again and that she hate it. So anyway, the proof that he loves them is that he was willing to give up playing the piano for her happiness even though it was his only source he had for avoiding the pain in his stomach.

I'm sorry if this is a really bad review. I warned you guys like a month ago that I am horrible at these kind of things. Plus the fact that I'm exhausted. If you guys are lucky, then I might come back and fix it, but for now it would have to do so I don't get a zero. So anyway, that's all I have for today folks. Come back in two weeks because this coming week is STAR Testing, so that means no blog. So in two weeks, I think it would be time to do The Journal Of Chloe Saunders (Part 5), but I'm not sure. It depends on if I'm at my dad's house, or my mom's. Oh well. We'll just deal with it when the time comes, so for now, wish me luck for my testing and see you in two weeks. Until then, see ya!

Book Review #3-The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time by: Mark Haddon

Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back to read part three of my Lit Circle Letter to Grant. Just a heads up. For the book review that is due Friday, I won't be writing about The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time by: Mark Haddon. I will be writing about a book I was reading independently and just found out I was able to do this. I so did not want to write about this book because I have nothing really to talk about. So anyway, I hope you guys enjoy reading my letter to Grant. And for next month's Lit Circle Book, Grant and I will not be working together because he does not want to read the girly books I want to read, so I might work with Melissa. So now, back to my letter.

The third part takes place after he finds out his mom is still alive. When I mean after, I mean way after. It starts out with him at the train station. It's obvious that he doesn't know what to do because you see him wandering around mindlessly and he doesn't know how to use trains. He's also afraid to ask for help since he doesn't enjoy communicating with strangers. Later on, a policeman finds him wandering around and helps him get money from his credit card, buy a ticket and get on the train. After a while, he finally made it to London and finds his mom, and his dad suddenly appears there and the parents start arguing about who deserves to take care of him.

That's all I can say because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who still hasn't read it. So all that's left to do is end the show for today. I hope you come back to read my monthly review. Until then, see ya!

Spring Break and Holocaust/Unity Week

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I talked to you guys. I had so much time during the Spring Break to sit back and relax. I stayed up all night watching my anime since I never seem to have enough time during the school year. I did about 1/4 of the homework assigned to me. Guess which assignment it was. One out of the two pages of worksheets my Chemistry teacher gave me. The other worksheet I saved for Monday when we came back from break during lunch. So let me explain how my week went. The first weekend during the Spring Break, my dad, step-mom, sister, step-brother, and I went to the cemetery to visit my step-grandpa's grave. We prayed and lighted in-scents (not sure if I spelled that correctly) to place around the grave. On Monday, I just hanged out and watched TV or anime. Same on Tuesday. Wednesday, I was forced to help watch my cousins at the movie theatre and watch, "How To Train Your Dragon". Thursday, I went to work at All Star. The kids had fun playing with my Chinese yo-yo and spinning plate. Friday I also had to work, but only in the afternoon. Saturday, everyone went to my Auntie's house to celebrate her birthday. On Sunday, I went to my uncle's house to attend a baby shower for twin boys. That was all I did for my Spring Break.

And just so you know, I will be continuing with "The Journal Of Chloe Saunders" every other week. Or whenever I am at my mom's house because at my dad's house, where I am right now, does not have Microsoft word, so it does not have the font I want to use for this story. The computer at my mom's house have it, so I will be typing it there. When I'm at my dad's house, I will find something to write about. But it would be really hard to find something to write about that reaches 500 words. Maybe I'll write another story which does not involve using Microsoft word.

This week was so easy because the sophomores got to miss periods 1, 2, and 5 on Tuesday to watch Schindler's List, and periods 3 and 4 on Wednesday to listen to Helen speak about her life during the Holocaust. Thursday, was kinda normal, except during our language class where we got to see the Foreign Language Talent Show in the Little Theatre. Today, The periods were shorter because of the Talent Show for Unity Week which was this week. I'm planning on entering the talent show at least once before I graduate. It's funny, the only times I performed on that stage was when I was in middle school at Lincoln, but now that I'm at Alameda High, I'm not performing on it anymore. If your wondering what I did on that stage, I did the Chinese yo-yo with Iris and Dionna.

That's all I have for you today folks! Come back next week and we can finally continue with, "The Journal Of Chloe Saunders". Until then, see ya!

Book Review #1 and #2-The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time by: Mark Haddon

Hey everyone! Book review #1 and #2 are together in one post because of Spring Break. I hope this book review is better than my other ones.

The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time, written by Mark Haddon, is about a fifteen year old autistic boy named, Christopher John Francis Boone. He is very intelligent because he knows every countries in the world and their capitals. He also knows every prime number up to 7,057. He doesn't react well with human beings, so he can easily relate with animals. One day at seven after midnight, his world falls apart when he finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, killed with a garden fork in the middle of the lawn. The reason he is out in the middle of the night is because he enjoys the idea of being the only person in the world. So anyway, Christopher was initially accused of killing the dog. This accusation causes Christopher to embark on a path, following his favorite fictional character, Sherlock Holmes', footsteps and solve the mystery of the murder of Wellington the dog. During this adventure, Christopher learns about things he thought he would never have to face. He learned about the dissolution of his parents' marriage. Now he faces two problems. The crisis growing within his own family, and the problem of finding Wellington's killer. But later we discover that the two problems are related.

In the beginning, Ms. Shear's ex-husband was the main suspect. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Ms. Shear is the owner of Wellington. Oops, sorry. So anyway, He was the main suspect because he probably killed the dog to get back at Ms. Shear for previous issues. Christopher's dad did not want him, in any way, involved in the mystery, but later finds that his very own father killed the dog. The reason for his actions were because he wanted to get back at Ms. Shears. Ms. Shear's husband left her around the same time as Christopher's mother's "death". So, guess what happens when two very lonely and truly sad people of the opposite sex shares the same feelings. They get close, and I mean really close. But in the end, she showed more affection toward her dog than him. Christopher's father confiscates the book he uses to write down his clues and hides it. Christopher goes looking for the book and finds it, but also finds letter written to him by his mother. So the truth is, his mother is actually alive and is currently living in London. His dad had to fake the death so Christopher's feelings won't get hurt. She left them because she felt that she couldn't stay with them without hurting the ones she loved. She has a big temper while everyone else in the family are very mellow people. So what do you guys think will happen next. If you lived part of your life thinking that a loved one is dead, but later learns that they are alive and living somewhere else. What would you do? Duh, you would want to see them again, so that's what Christopher did. He went to London to live with his mom. So now he embarks on a new adventure. One that is more challenging because he has asperger's syndrome. For those of you who do not know what that it, it is an autism spectrum disorder, and people with it therefore show significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

That's the end of my book review. It really is a good book. I encourage all of you to read it. The only part I don't like is the fact that they murdered a dog because I am a huge dog-lover. But other than that, The book so far is great. I hope you come back next week to read about part 3. Until then, see ya!

New New Statement of Purpose

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!!!

Hey everyone! This is an assigned blog post, so that means you'll have to wait until next next week to read about Chloe and her other roommates. I'm not writing a blog post next week because we are on spring break. Yeah! Today felt like it would never end. The clock was slower than ever. And the teachers had the nerve to give us homework during our break. Can you believe this. Homework on our break from school. How can that possibly be a break. Are they trying to ruin our lives? I'm probably going to wait until the very last second to do them. Oh well. I don't know what's going on in my teacher's head, but I'm not going to let it ruin my week of no school, so anyway, the blog post this week is about my goals for the 4th quarter. What I plan on doing differently, what I'm going to keep doing, blah blah blah. The usual stuff. So I might as well get through this and get on with my spring break. I plan on hanging out with my friends except for Thursday and Friday when I have to go to work. But anyway, I'm going to have as much fun as possible. I so don't want to go back to school and have to take the STAR testing and my chemistry final. I'm going to hate it. Oh yeah, I forgot about my blog. Sorry about that. Here's my goals for this last quarter.

My goals for this quarter is to continue with "The Journal Of Chloe Saunders" and maybe try to write my own book. First I need a topic where there is a lot of things to talk about. Make the characters for my book, and also figure out a storyline. It will be a very difficult challenge, but it will greatly improve my writing skills. If anyone has any good topics, please post them on my comments. That will greatly help me improve my writing. I read so many books, I feel I can actually write a good book, but that won't happen without practice. I will surely hit a writer's block along the way, but eventually everything will all work out.

I guess I will try my best to continue doing this even when the school year is over. It probably won't be as frequently as now, but I will try my best. I hope you guys will continue reading my blog. I love reading about magic and romance, so most likely I will write my stories about that. It will be interesting how I will do that. That's all I have for you folks this week. Please come back in two weeks to read The Journal Of Chloe Saunders (Part 5). I will be introducing some new characters to you. So be sure to comment my posts. I want to know what you think about my posts so far. Have fun during your spring break and see you in two weeks. Until then, see ya!

Monthly Review #1-Wild Magic by: Tamora Pierce

Hey everyone! I forgot to tell you last week that this week, instead of a weekly blog post, I will be posting my first, monthly book review. Like I said last week, I suck at summaries, so please go easy on the critiquing. Enjoy!

The book, "Wild Magic", written by Tamora Pierce, is about a 13 year old girl named Veralidaine Sarrasri, but everyone calls her Daine. She lost everything when a group of bandits came to her town in Snowsdale. They killed her mom, grandpa, and all of her animals. Daine and her horse, Cloud were lucky enough to be out of the house at that time, so they survived. She then began living with the wolves and she started changing into one. They tracked down the bandits and killed them. Will Daine ever find a home again? Will she ever be able to trust humans again? This book tells the story of how a girl lost everything. She went on a journey, made some friends, and learned things about herself she never would have known if she didn't leave her town.

Cloud slowly started trying to get the old Daine back step by step. After a while they finally found her. They left town because all the towns people were trying to kill her. They went to Cría and met Onua. She got a job and left with her and her ponies to Tortall. Once they got there, she learned that she was gifted with wild magic. Wild magic is in everything. It allows her to communicate with animals. She can command them, but doesn't because it's not right. They later went to Pirate's Swoop and after a few days, were under attack. The Carthaki mages, the ones who are attacking Daine and her friends, opened a portal through the Divine Realms to bring back more Stormwings to fight for them. In the process, they accidentally sucked a pregnant Dragon through the portal and killed her baby. She had the animals attack the Carthaki, making sure they have bad food and water. They also made sure they didn't get a wink of sleep. She then went down to the water to ask the whales to try and sink the barges out in the ocean. They refused because they are pacifists and believed fighting and killing is disgusting. Once she got back, they continued to fight. The dragon helped sink and destroy the barges, but was killed in the process. Before she was killed though, she sent Daine a picture of a cave in the northwest mountains. The next part I can't tell you because it's a spoiler, so your just going to have to read it yourself. What I can tell you is that the next day, Daine, Numair, Alanna, and some other knights went to the cave and found the baby dragon, Skysong. Daine became the baby's new mom. In the end, she still got to keep her job with Onua, even though her duty is to Skysong. She was even offered to live in the castle with King Jonathan and Queen Thayet. Then George and Alanna fought for Daine to live with them at Pirate's Swoop. And Numair said she should live with him in his tower since she is his apprentice. So in the end, she ended up having too many homes when she started out with none.

When I first picked up this book, I thought, "This book might be okay. It should be good enough to help me pass the time." But after I started reading it, I just couldn't put the book back down. I read nonstop until I finished the book. I didn't get a wink of sleep that night, but it was worth it. I couldn't wait to read the next book, Wolf-Speaker. This book had so many exciting and fun characters. Cloud was my favorite. She is strong when it comes to protecting Daine, but she is also stubborn and funny. Daine is lucky to have her in her family. She is reliable and caring.

I love how Tamora Pierce animated the animals. The described each animal and creature so well, I could see them in my mind as clearly as night and day. They animal's personality is also what I would expect from animals if they were able to communicate with us human. The immortals she came up with, I never would have thought of half animal, half human type monsters. She is so creative. I promise, once you pick up her books, you just can't put it down until you read every single page she has. I even feel the same excitement from rereading her books, and I'm the type of person to read a book once, love it, and never pick it up again.

Tamora Pierce's talent in creating monsters is so wonderful. I can imagine her sitting at her desk and letting her imagination wander free, looking for the perfect monster or character that fits her needs. I can already anticipate on new, well thought out characters in her next books. I can't wait to see how she plans on continuing this story. But hopefully in her next book she is able to easily explain who is talking at the moment because sometimes I have to reread some paragraphs until I know who is talking. She puts a lot of dialogue in the book, but sometimes she doesn't say who said it.

If I were to be able to become one of the characters, I would be the dragon because I love the thought of flying high over the place. It would look so beautiful from so high up. And the thought of being a mage is so exciting. I've always wanted magic. It can be so beautiful, but at the same time, it can also be dangerous. The dragon can also change color depending on her moods. That quality, when I read it in the book, matched perfectly with the dragon. A dragon can be fierce and it can also be calm and proud. It is majestic and at the top of the pyramid in the Divine Realms. When reading the parts about the dragons, I could practically feel their hot breath going down my neck and back.

I can't really compare this book with her other ones I read like, "The Circle of Magic series" or "The Circle Opens series" or "The Circle Reforged series". I love all her books. Or any book relating to magic. It's just so exciting reading about magical creatures that don't exist, but wish it does. I mean, who doesn't want to see a dragon or have a magical gift. I know I want to be able to talk or turn into an animal. Her books are all about magic, that's why she is my number one favorite author. I would love it if she read and commented on my blog about her. It would be a dream come true, but we all know that's never going to happen. But I can still dream. Anyway, her talent with paper and pen is magical. The way she can weave a story so magical, yet out of this world is real talent.

You can feel the atmosphere in the air change as you continue on through her books. She is one of my favorite authors and I hope she will continue to write more books for everyone to read in the future. Her books bring smiles of excitement to people's faces when they read. She was born to write stories for people to read and enjoy for years to come.

That's the end of my monthly book review. Please come back next week to read about Chloe and the other kids at Lyle House. Until then, see ya!

The Journal Of Chloe Saunders (Part 4)

Hey everyone! Thanks for taking your time to read part 3 of "The Journal of Chloe Saunders". Here's part 4.

I was getting out of the car when I got my first, real look of Lyle House. It's a huge white Victorian house perched on an over-sized lot. It has a yellow trim and a swing on the wraparound porch. I saw many pictures in the brochures, but it looks totally different up close. It actually looked like a normal house, instead of those with bars on the windows and doors, but it didn't feel like one. It feels like there's something wrong and dangerous about this house, but I'm not sure what it is. That I’m sure of.

The feeling I felt reminds me of the ocean. The waves looks nice and peaceful, but can easily turn into a dangerous storm at any moment. I mean sure it looked cozy, but that doesn't mean it is. My aunt and dad were beckoning me toward the front door, when two women came out of the house.

The one with the gray hair and wide hips came to greet us while the younger one's dour eyes followed my every move with her arms crossed like she was expecting trouble. The older woman was Mrs. Talbot, and she's one of the nurses. She gave the grand tour of the place. My room was white and yellow, decorated with daisies, smelling of hair gel. The far side had a twin bed. Over the bed on the wall were decorated with pages ripped from magazines. The dresser was covered with makeup tubes and bottles. The tiny desk was the only one left bare. My side was a sterile mirror image.

The tour was finally over and it was time for dad and aunt Lauren to go. I gave a hug to aunt Lauren ignoring the tears in her eyes and gave a sort of an awkward hug to dad. He kissed the top of my head and mumbled that he would stay in town and visit as soon as possible. He then pressed a roll of twenties into my hand.

I was tired, so as the nurses were putting my things away, I crawled into bed to sleep. The last thing I remembered was seeing dad's silhouette in the doorway with the younger nurse, Miss Van Dop, behind him with her face set in disapproval. My dad moved to my bedside one last time and pressed something soft in my hand and said, "Oops, I almost forgot to give you Ozzie. I wasn't sure if you would sleep without him."

Ozzie was my koala bear that I outgrew two years ago, banished onto my shelf. I buried my face into his soft and fake fur that smelled like home.

***

I awoke and saw that I was asleep for 4 hours. I heard someone snoring and looked over at the bed next to me. There was someone sleeping under the quilt. I turned onto my back and felt a tear roll down my cheek.

I was ashamed of myself. Dad and aunt Lauren didn't know what to do with me. Their actions are being carried out with the feelings of fear leading them. They were scared and they had every right to be. I was a freak with schizophrenia.

How stupid could I be? Ghosts aren't real, and yet I can see them. They look so real, how am I suppose to learn what's real and what's fake? I think the fastest way for me to get back to my normal life is to be the perfect patient they want me to be. All I have to do is keep telling them, "I want to get better. I know I have a problem, but I won't let it ruin my life. I will do anything to get better." I will also just pretend I don't see ghosts anymore, and try not to make a scene. If I treat everybody like they didn't exist, then I won't make a scene. I won't accidentally talk to a ghost and people won't see me talking to an empty space. It was a perfect plan.

Just then, there was a knock on my door. A voice, a lady’s voice, says, “Chloe, Liz? Are you awake?”

The figure on the bed groaned then said, “Now I am. And who’s Chloe?”

“She should be on the bed next to you.”

The girl sat up and looked at me grumpily. She looked like one of those teen models with her long, beautiful blond hair. I waved and said, “Hi, I’m Chloe. Chloe Saunders. I just got here today.”

The girl rubbed her eyes and said, “Hi, I’m Elizabeth Delaney, but everyone calls me Liz. Sorry if I sound mad. Normally I’m nicer, but that’s after I’m fully awake. Wait an hour then you can come see me and I’ll introduce you to the others.”

“OK.”

“Are you girls done yet? It’s time for school. Hurry up and get ready. Liz you know what to do. Chloe, just come out when Liz is ready and I’ll introduce myself. We’ll just talk about the rules and schedules here and then you can go back to bed or hang out in the pit. You won’t start your lessons until your teachers send in their notes and homework. See you in a few or I’m coming in to get you guys,” said the voice on the other side of the door.

I asked Liz, “Who’s that? And can you please refresh my memory on what the pit is. That would totally help a lot.”

“That was Dr. Gill. She usually forgets what she calls, ‘the minor details’, but we call it ‘the major details’ of most things. You’ll get use to it eventually. And what everyone calls the pit is the recreational room. There’s a very slow laptop, but you need one of the adults to log on before you can use it. You also need them to type a password in if you want to email someone. There’s also a T.V. with a playstation, a foosball table, beanbag chairs, and a lot of other stuff. Check it out. It’s a nice place to hang out, especially when you have it all to yourself. No one to hog the remote.”

As Liz was getting ready, we were telling each other about ourselves. I learned that she is 16 years old and very, and I mean very, talkative. And she was completely OK with telling me the reason she was in this place. She got straight to the point, “I have a poltergeist.”

I was starring at her and decided if she isn’t afraid of what other people might think about her problem, then I shouldn’t either. And isn’t accepting what I have part of my ‘perfect plan’? And now that I’m back on the topic, wasn’t I suppose to ignore everyone just in case they were a ghost? But then I realized how much I needed a friend in this place, so I simply banished that part of the plan and said, “And I have schizophrenia. Putting that aside now, shouldn’t we be going now?”

She stared at me for a second, smiled and said, “Yep, lets go. After my lessons, I’ll come find you and you can meet the others.”

She went to the door and left. I walked up to the door, took a deep breath, and dived in.

That’s all I have for you this week. Come back next week and meet the other teens at Lyle House. Until then, see ya!

Book Review #2-Wild Magic by: Tamora Pierce

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
TODAY I AM 15 1/2! I CAN FINALLY GET MY PERMIT! NOT. I CAN ONLY GET MY PERMIT IF I HAVE STRAIT A'S. T.T


Hey everyone! Here is my second letter to Grant about part 2 of the book we're reading. I understand that Grant said my summary was way too long. I know, I suck at summaries, but I am the best at reading. Give me a book, and if I like it, I'll be done in a day or two. If I love the book, I'll read all night without any sleep, but feel horrible the next day. The parts I like about in books is the middle because that's where all the exciting parts are. The ending, it kinda slows down a little and it either has a happy ending or a sad ending. Or the ones that I hate that says, "To be continued", until the next book comes out and I'll be happy again. The beginnings are the worst. All they do is explain about the characters or tell the readers what happened in the previous book that I feel like putting the book back down. But I learned that if you read up until about 100 pages, then you'll find whether you should put the book down or keep reading. With Wild Magic, I read all night not putting the book down. The beginning was actually OK. I just blasted right through the book.

The part I liked the most about part two would be when they arrived to Tortall and traveled with the Queen's Rider's Trainees to Pirate's Swoop, home to the King's Champion and The Lioness, Alanna, and the Baron of Pirate's Swoop, George Cooper. During this time, Daine had just learned about her powers as a magelet, her nickname Numair gave her as her teacher in the study of Wild Magic. She finally accepts the fact that she has magic running through her veins. Throughout their journey to Pirate's Swoop, Daine has grown in size and has learned to control her powers. They also ran into other immortals, good and bad.

That's what I like about part 2. I hope part three is as much fun to read as part 2 was. That's all I have for you folks. Tune in later to read my weekly blog post. Until then, see ya!

The Journal Of Chloe Saunders (Part 3)

Hey everyone! I hope you liked part 2. Here’s part 3.

I regained my consciousness when I heard my father’s voice. I opened my eyes and there he was. He was kneeling at my bedside talking to aunt Lauren. He was holding my hands and it looked like he was crying. I realized the only other time I saw dad cry was when mom died.

I tried to listen to what they were talking about, but my head was spinning so much that it hurt. I was about to try and get closer so I could hear better when aunt Lauren saw me awake and rushed to hug me. When she finally let me go, dad gave me a big hug and told me how worried he was.

I said, “Dad, I’m fine. My head is just spinning.”

“It’s probably from the drugs they used to put you to sleep. We should tell the doctors that you’re awake.”

“Wait dad. What happened to me? I saw the boogey man illusions that I used to see as a kid, but I didn’t realize it until they drugged me. No one else saw what I saw.” I turned to aunt Lauren, “I thought this talisman was suppose to protect me. I thought it was suppose to stop the illusions. Why isn’t it working?”

I reached down to where my talisman was supposed to be hanging, but it wasn’t there. I looked down and panicked. “Where’s my talisman? Did I forget to where it today? Is that why I saw the illusions today? I thought for sure I put it on before I left for school.”

“Don’t worry sweetie. The doctors insisted on taking it off so it wouldn’t choke you if you started fighting the doctors. I have it right here.” She lifted her hand and there it was, dangling off its long gold chain.

I carefully took it, like it was a newborn baby. “I’m glad it’s safe. I don’t know what I’ll do without it. Thank you aunt Lauren.” I gave her a big hug and asked, “Can I wear it now?”

“Of course, and if anyone says no, I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”

I laughed because aunt Lauren was only four-feet and eleven-inches, but I knew better. She’s a black belt in martial arts. She can take care of herself.

“Can we please call the doctors now? I want to know if my baby girl is better,” said my worried father.

“OK dad, call the doctors if it will make you happy”

“That will most definitely make me happy,” he said on his way out the door in search of my doctor.

After my dad left, I took the time to examine my talisman. Why isn’t it working? I looked closer and saw that the red jewel is a lot darker than I remember. It looks like it’s going to turn blue.

I asked aunt Lauren, “Are you sure this is my talisman? It feels right in my hand, but when I look at it, it looks like it’s starting to turn blue.”

“I know for sure that is your talisman sweetie. I was the one who personally took it off of you when the doctors insisted that it must be taken off. I couldn’t let them touch your most precious possession. I have a heart you know.”

I started laughing.

“That’s your thanks for me saving your precious talisman from those creepy looking doctors? At least now I know where I stand in your life.”

We both looked at each other and started laughing.

At that moment, the doctors came in with my dad. One of them, Dr. Lee, said, “I can see she’s doing much better. Let me do a quick check-up first before we start talking about some things.

It was just the usual; he listened to my heart, my breathing, my reflexes, and passed the light over my eyes.

After we were done, he said, “We’re all done, you are completely healthy, now we can talk about that little incident earlier. Why don’t we all go to my office and settle down first?”

We followed him down a long hallway and went into the 5th door on the right. We sat down in the chairs and he began, “While you were unconscious, I had a talk with your dad and aunt. They said you used to see ghosts, or back then, the “boogey man illusions”, but it all ended when you received that necklace hanging around your neck. Now, out of nowhere, you start seeing them again, right? You think they are real, but then other people don’t see them. Am I correct so far?”

I nodded my head because my mouth was dry and I couldn’t find my voice.

“From what I know, these are all the symptoms for schizophrenia.”

I finally found my voice and said, “You think I have schizophrenia?”

The doctor nodded his head and said, “It’s not as bad as it seems. All you have to do is learn how to figure out if what you see is real or fake.”

“How do I do that?”

“There is a group home, Lyle House, that help children like you.”

I thought, “Yeah, crazy people like me.” I said, “I am not going to a group home, and that’s final. I’ll learn to deal with it on my own. All I want is to go back to my normal life.”

“I’m sorry Chloe, but if you don’t go, you will either have to live in the hospital until you get better, or you have to stay at home with a nurse following you at all times. You will also be home schooled. You can’t go back to school with your friends until you get better.”

I felt like my life was ruined. Oh wait, it is. I started to cry. My aunt asked, “Is there another way? She will be going to college in a few years. She was planning on applying to UCLA. She was really looking forward to it. We can’t just have her dreams end here.”

“Actually, Lyle House is a place where kids can go to get better and it won’t interfere with their studies or future plans. They take lessons for their special needs, then they will take lessens for their schooling. Their teachers will send in the notes and the homework for them. So they’re still learning the same things, just in a different environment. They also have someone there to help kids figure out where they want to go in the future. So you don’t have to worry about not getting accepted to the college of your choice. Lyle House makes sure they don’t say no because of your special needs. Does that help with your decision?”

I looked up and asked, “Is this my only option if I want to go to UCLA?”

“Yes.”

I thought about it, took a deep breath, and said, “Okay, I’ll go.”

That’s all I have for you guys this week. Come back next week to see how Chloe deals with her new roommates. Until then, see ya!

Book Review #1-Wild Magic by: Tamora Pierce

Hey everyone! This is not part of the weekly blog post, but a letter to Grant who is reading the same lit circle book with me. I hope you like the book so far. When I chose the book, all I was thinking was, "I loved this book. I just couldn't put it down". It was unfair of me to choose the book this way because I wasn't thinking if you would like it, or if ANY guy will like it. But then I read your letter to me and I was glad that you liked it so far. And of course the beginning is boring. The beginning is where the author introduces the main character and describes what's going on before the exciting part happens. I mean, name one book where the beginning was not boring. I can't even name one, and I read a lot of books, which you already know. So anyway, here is my summary of the book in part 1. Just an FYI, I am very bad at summaries.

Chapter 1 was about a thirteen year old girl named Veralidaine Sarrasri, but she prefers the name, Daine. She is from the town of Snowsdale, but she left her hometown is search of a job with her horse, Cloud. She went to the town of Cría, which is the capital of Galla. She met a woman named Onua Chamtong of the K'miri Raadeh. The K'miri are people from the east, and Raadeh is the name of her tribe. Onua is searching for an assistant to help herd her ponies to the capital of Tortall. The ponies are for the new trainees of the Queen's Riders. The Queen's Riders is an army the Queen made and it consists of both boys and girls. So anyway, Daine asks for the job and is interviewed. Immediately the readers learn that there is something mysterious about her. She is hiding a big secret that she will not tell. Onua senses this, but decides to see how well she is with the ponies. Daine passes the test with flying colors. She went right up to the leader of the herd and established domination over him and ultimately, the entire herd. Onua was debating whether she should take her on or not because she was still so young, but in the end she trusted in her Gift, or magical abilities, to keep them both safe from the rumored monsters, so she hired Daine. They left early the next morning. Later on, Onua said Daine might also have the Gift, but Daine simply called it a knack with animals (She also have a knack for archery or hunting). She explained how her mom was a hedgewitch, and how she was trying to teach her how to use the Gift. She said she didn't have a single ounce of magic in her. When she brought up her mom, she paused like she was having great pain talking about her and continued. Later that night, Daine had a dream about a badger saying how he had to come to the Human Realms to finally find her and how he promised Daine's father to keep an eye on her. He said he's been watching her since she was a kid. He said how he didn't want to come back to the Human Realms to search for her again, and how they have to be connected in some way if she wanted to wander, so he bit off one of his front paws and spit it on Daine's lap. A new claw was already growing. He said the claw was to keep track of time and was a way for him to find her (Time passes differently in the Human Realms). He vanished and Daine woke up. She thought it was a dream until she saw her hand locked around a large animal's claw made of shiny silver. Later she wore it around her neck.


Chapter 2 is about a week later where the can finally see Tortall. The badger visits again and gives Daine a little hint to help her in the future. It is part of a lesson he is teaching her. She woke up and sensed there was trouble coming, but wasn't sure what. They packed and headed toward a marsh. After they entered, they heard shrieks. They looked up and saw Stormwings. They are monsters. They have a human head and chest with a bird's legs and wings. the talons and feathers were steel. They were chasing a hawk, but Onua distracted them so they lost it. They decided to get them back for what they did. The birds all around started helping Daine and Onua fight. Daine and Onua started shooting arrows and killed all but one who now holds a grudge on Daine and says she belongs to their queen, Zhaneh Bitterclaws. When she left, Onua explained that they are one of the rumored monsters that lived on the battlefields, desecrating bodies, but that was 3 or 4 centuries ago, and they are just legends. They decided they should go before more come back, but Daine saw so many birds die trying to help. She started crying and fainted. Onua knew for sure that some of the birds were dead. One even had there head chopped all the way off, but when Daine fainted, every one of those birds stood up shakily, and flew away completely healed. She looked from Daine to the birds, and then decided they should leave. Cloud brought Onua who was holding Daine and the ponies to a clearing. Daine woke up and Onua said she had to go back and get the hawk. Daine wondered what was so important about a crow, but in the end, decided to get him for Onua. She returned and put the badger's lesson to good use. She listened to the sounds around her and knew exactly what each animal was doing. She found the hawk because a fox lead her to him and thought that he looked like a strange hawk. He wasn't wrong like the Stormwings, but he wasn't right either. He was hurt, so she bandaged him up and brought him back. They traveled some more, the hawk got sick and was going to die. Onua contacted a mage who was nearby to come and help. Daine was taking care of him in the mean time, but was sure he was unlike and animal she had ever nursed. The mage finally came. She is Sir Alanna of Pirate's Swoop an Olau, also known as the king's champion or the knight they call 'the Lioness'. She told her the bird won't eat and is dizzy all the time. She questions her on why she thinks he's dizzy but says she has a knack for animals. Alanna takes the bird in the tent and tries to help bu fails. She has Daine help her by having her do the same thing she did when finding him and call his childhood name, Arram (He changed his name to Numair Salmalín 8 years ago). When she did it, she heard a snap of the bird's splints and looked where the bird was, but instead of a bird, a naked man was laying in the bird's place. Out of confusion, she started getting angry and saying "The bird would never get better", "Where is he?" and "Where'd that man come from?" Before she could get any answers, she was told to go outside and that they would explain everything later. That's my summary. Yeah, I know. It is way too long for 2 chapters, but I warned you I was bad at this. Anyway, see you at school and please don't make fun of my summary.

The Journal Of Chloe Saunders (Part 2)

Hey everyone! Welcome back. Hope you liked part 1 from last week. Today, I am writing about part 2. I hope you like this post too!


Now I am almost 15, and I never saw another “boogey man illusion” since them. My mother died soon after that, and my dad is always away on business trips, so now, I’m always stuck at home with a nanny. This gave me another reason for keeping my talisman safe, because when I hold it, it reminds me of my parents and how much fun we had when we were together.

Recently though, I’ve been having dreams about what happened 10 years ago. I would always wake up sweating, fall back asleep, and find the same dream right where I left off.

Today, my nanny woke me up from my reoccurring nightmare because I overslept and if I didn’t wake up now, I would be late for school. I got ready in record time and made it to school right when the bell rang. I didn’t have time to go to my locker, so I went to my first period class and asked her if I could go to my locker. Luckily she is so lenient on that kind of stuff.

While I was walking to my locker, I saw a janitor walking around. His back was to me so he probably didn’t know I was there. He looks like a new janitor because I never seen him before. I continued to walk, ignoring him.

I got to my locker, opened it and all my stuff fell out. I cursed and started picking my stuff up. I put everything back in my locker, made sure it wouldn’t fall again, got what I needed, and closed the locker.

When I turned around, I saw the janitor standing right behind. I thought, “How did he get here so fast? He was all the way at the end of the hall. The only way he could’ve made it here was if he ran, but I would’ve heard his footsteps. I was sure there weren’t any footsteps.” As I was thinking, I looked up at his face, and froze from shock. His face looked like it was sitting in a pit of fire burning. His face was deformed and black. One part of his face had so much burned flesh; you could see his skull underneath.

I started running as fast as I could, screaming my head off. I could hear the janitor yelling at me, “Chloe Saunders, get back over here! I need a favor from you!”

I continued to run and scream. I was sure the whole school could hear me. I saw people staring at me and I wondered, “Why aren’t they helping? They see a deformed janitor chasing me and all they’re doing is watching? Some are even laughing.” I was so angry, I flipped them the finger.

I’m also wondering how that janitor knew my name. I know for sure I never seen him before. I kept running, looking for somewhere to hide. I went upstairs (I know, stupid. Who, would run Upstairs when getting chased by a, what should I call him, a zombie?), found an empty room, went in and hid.

After a while, I decided to try to sneak out the window. As I was opening the window, the principle and some teachers came in. Mr. Sanchez knocked me down and I was screaming, “Why are you attacking ME?” I looked over at the door and saw the janitor. I started screaming, “Don’t tackle me, get the janitor!”

I looked over again and he was gone. I let out a breath and turned my head toward the ceiling. Wrong move. The janitor was standing over me. He asked, “Now will you shut up and listen to me?”

I started screaming again. The teachers started trying to put me on a stretcher. They strapped me down and started rolling me away towards the ambulance out in the parking lot.

“Don’t take her away! I need to talk to her. She’s the only one I can go to”

I looked toward the voice and saw the janitor screaming at the teachers. The teachers acted like he wasn’t even there. While they were rolling my out, I saw students from every class watching, laughing, some even felt sorry for me. When I finally got in the ambulance, they drugged me so I would stop struggling under the straps and hurt myself.

The last thing I remember thinking as I drifted off into a dreamless sleep was, “Is he a ghost or is he a “boogey man illusion” (even though I don’t believe in the boogey man any more)? And why isn’t my talisman working?” The next thing I know, sleep has finally taken over.


That’s it for this week! Come back next week to see what happens Chloe. Until then, see ya!

The Journal Of Chloe Saunders (Part 1)

Hey everyone! I just read the book, The Summoning, by Kelley Armstrong. I loved the book and I am currently reading the second book, The Awakening. They are part of the Darkest Powers Trilogy. The third book, The Reckoning will be out in April. So anyway, today, I would like to write about my version of The Summoning. I hope you like it!


My name is Chloe Saunders. This is a journal of my life. It is filled with dark secrets that no one should ever learn about. I know I am taking a risk with writing in this journal, but I just need somewhere for me to talk about all that is happening. I still can’t believe it’s real. So if you ever find this journal, what ever you do, DO NOT READ IT. I am serious. Knowing my secrets could cost you your life.

I know what your thinking. “How can these secrets cost me my life? She’s not here anymore. She won’t know if I read it.” You’re also thinking, “If you tell me not to read this, of course I’m going to want to read this.” So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to give you one last warning. Turn back now and you can live a normal life in peace, or keep reading and learn all of my dark secrets at the risk of losing your life.

So you decided to keep reading. Fine by me. If you die from your own stupidity, don’t come running back to me. You heard me correctly. You’re going to come running back to me AFTER you die because I am a necromancer. Since obviously you were stupid enough to keep reading, then you’re obviously too stupid to know what a necromancer is. A necromancer is basically a person who sees ghosts. They can talk to them, summon them, and raise the dead. When I mean raise them, I mean shoving the ghost back into their decaying body, and watching them come back alive. Kind of like a zombie but real.

You’re probably thinking I’m crazy or have schizophrenia, but I am totally serious. If you still don’t believe me, then slowly put the book down and run. You can still save your life, but you will have to live your life looking over your shoulder all the time. A life filled with caution because you only know part of my secrets. There are more waiting for you if you continue reading my journal.

Again, “YOU ARE STUPID. I gave you one more chance to live and you still keep reading. Are you asking for a Death Wish?” At least I know you believe me. So now there’s no turning back. You are about to read the beginning of everything.

It all started when I was 5. I still dream about it too. Feels like it was just yesterday. My parents were in the family room watching a movie together. I decided to walk around looking for a “secret base”, when I came to a door. I didn’t know until my parents scolded me that it was the basement. I decided to check it out. When I went inside, the hairs on the back of my neck rose. I started to turn back when I saw a man sitting on our old rocking chair.

He looked like my grandpa. I knew he was my grandpa even though I never knew him. We have pictures of him all over the house. But I thought, “That can’t be grandpa. Mommy said he is in a better place now.” I didn’t know what to do, so I panicked and started to scream. My mom and dad came running to get me. They asked what was wrong and I said, “Mommy, I saw grandpa rocking in our old rocking chair.”

Mom said, “That can’t be. He went to a better place remember sweetie.”

“But I’m sure that was him.” I ran back down and saw that he was still there. “Mommy, come quick. He’s still there.”

My mom came down and said, “I don’t see him sweetie.”

“But he’s right there. How can you not see him?”

Then my mom looked at my dad. They had a silent conversation with each other. Back then, I didn’t know what they were thinking, but now, I know they were thinking about my powers as a necromancer.

They silently decided to tell me it was the boogey man playing tricks with me. They still didn’t believe me, so I started crying.

They then brought me back to my room and waited till I calmed down and fell asleep. When I woke up, my aunt Lauren was there. She told me the boogey man was famous for scaring little kids with his illusions. She told me everything is going to be OK.

After I gave her a hug, she asked me, “Chloe, do you want to know how to stop seeing the boogey man and his illusions?”

I said, “Yes, yes, yes. Please show me. I don’t want to see them anymore. Make them go away.”

She then pulled out a small box out of her pocket, and gave it to me.

I asked, “What is it? Is it a present? Can I open it?”

“Of course. I got it just for you.”

I started tearing the wrapping paper, and when I opened it, I saw a necklace. There was a big red stone hanging off of a gold chain. “It’s beautiful. Can I really have it?”

“How else are you going to keep the boogey man away? It’s called a talisman. As long as you wear it all the time, it will keep you safe. Your parents and I both want you to live a wonderful life. That’s why we got this for you. Will you promise to wear it every day?”

“Yes, yes, yes. Thank you so very much!” I gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek.


That’s all I have for you this week folks. Come back next week to hear what happens next. Until then, see ya!

My Step-Brother's Concert

Hey everyone! I'm back, and today I am interviewing my step-brother, Tyler, because he had a concert in Fresno at the Valdez Hall today. This is a very important concert because they were elected the top middle school band of the state and that is why they performed. So it is a huge honor. So this is how the story begins! He had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and be at his school, which, is at Harvest Park Middle School in Pleasanton, by 4:30. He said that the morning was very tiring. When he got to school he and his friend met and went to the band room. His friend's name is also Tyler and plays Baritone Saxophone. When he got to the band room he noticed his bari was gone and so their music teacher was going crazy. So then at that moment my step-brother told his teacher that Tyler could use his bari. Although it may seem gross all he uses is the body of the instrument not the reed or mouth piece. So then everything was fine once again and all the band kids filled two huge buses. He said that the seats were really comfortable. So then the buses left the side parking lot of the school and Tyler, Tyler and his other friend Austin all linked up each of their DS and all played together. Tyler says that it was so much fun and that they played Mario party DS. As the trip continued all of us started to get hungry so at 7:00 AM Tyler's mom, who was one of the chaperone including three other chaperones passed out big muffins. As the trip continued further everyone started to get super excited about the concert. Finally after three long and painful hours we finally arrived at Valdez Hall. So when we arrived a guy came on the bus and asked for helpers and coincidentally since Tyler and his friends were in the front of the bus he called on them. So they had to bring in all the percussion supplies on the stage. They had to roll the tympani, bass drum, and all the other percussion things on stage. Tyler says that when he first saw the stage it was much smaller than what he first thought it would be. When they finished helping all the buses were unloaded and we all had to go upstairs to set up. Then they went back downstairs to practice.

Tyler told me that a few minutes before the concert started he looked out to the crowd and saw a lot of parents and the whole Amador Valley High School band in the audience. Then it was time to play. They played Overture on a Shakertune, Sonatina for Band, Dreams and Fancies, Danza Festiva, Joy Revisited, Polly Oliver, and Don Pedro. Tyler's favorite songs were Sonatina for Band, Joy Revisited, Polly Oliver, and Don Pedro. He says he liked Sonatina for Band because of all the cool rhythms it had. He liked Joy Revisited because of the fast tempo of the song, it was fun to play, and most importantly he had a little solo. He liked Polly Oliver because they had a guest conductor conduct his band. Then the reason why he liked Don Pedro is because of how fun it was to play. When they finished they left the area where they preformed and went to a music clinic. In the clinic there was a wide variety of instruments on display and for sale. There were soprano saxophones, alto saxophones, tenor saxophones, baritone saxophones, bass saxophones, clarinets, bass clarinets, flutes, alto flutes, bass flutes, alto trombones, tenor trombones, bass trombones, tubas, baritone horns, and percussion drums. Tyler says that he really liked the bass flute and bass saxophone because of how big and cool they are. There were also fundraising stands that gave away free candy and cookies. Time went by really fast and they went back to Valdez Hall to listen to the Amador Valley High School band perform. It was really fun and then it was time for them to leave.

So then everyone got back on the buses. They were all very tired. Tyler and his friends played video games again and had fun on the way back. When they got back to their school the bell had rung and so there was a lot of traffic going back into the school. So in the end Tyler says that he had a lot of fun and would do it again and again and again if he could. Also he says that everyone was giving them compliments on how well they performed. And that's the end of his interview. Thanks for taking your time to read this. I hope you come back next week. Until then, see ya!