Owen

Once when we were a baby, we all probably had a pacifier. And as we grew up, we left the pacifier, and may have moved on to some other object. For example, some kids may still hold onto their baby blankets, a stuffed animal, the bottle, etc. But there comes a time in life when you have to leave the baby phase and grow into an adult. It may be difficult for them, but it will help them grow and mature in the future. In the book Owen by Kevin Henkes, he teaches the reader that you have to grow up.

Owen is a mouse, who is very attached to his blanket, Fuzzy. He takes it everywhere he goes, but his parents and neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, don't approve of this. They try everything in their power to get Owen to let go of Fuzzy; to grow up, but nothing worked. All they want Owen to do is grow out of carrying it everywhere he goes. I think Owen won't let go of Fuzzy because he feels as if it's his only friend (because he named it). It may also be because it's another type of "pacifier", one that makes him feel secure. Just when Owen's parents were about to give up, his mother came up with a crazy idea of cutting Fuzzy into handkerchiefs. From this, it made it much more suitable for a growing boy, like Owen, to carry around wherever he goes. This broke the phase for Owen, stating that he eventually grew out of the blanket.

I think this is important to me and you because we've all probably went through an event where we wouldn't give something up. For me, it was a stuffed animal dog that I carried with me everywhere I went. It was hard for me to stop bringing it everywhere because since I was shy, it made me confident and not feel alone. It is probably important to you, the reader, as well because you've probably also experienced it or witnessed how hard it is to pass through into adulthood. From this, I hope that you saw the difficulty of what it was like to leave something behind, and maybe help out a baby/young person let go of something to grow and mature.

The Power in The Stolen Party

In books, power and resistance are sometimes shown. Some characters have power, in which they can use it however they want. And with that power, other characters resist it. By using power and resistance, authors make very powerful plots for the story, and with it, teach many lessons. In the book, The Stolen Party by Liliana Heker, Rosaura's mother had the power near the end of the story.

Rosaura's mother really wanted to make Rosaura see that rich people only saw them as workers, not friends, but Rosaura was in denial to the truth. So, I think that she used her power to manipulate Rosaura into thinking that her mother was right. At the end of the party when Senora Ines was giving out gifts, Rosaura was so eager to get one of the gifts: a yo-yo. In the text, it said her mother became worried, which probably says that she's worried about her plan. Rosaura didn't get the yo-yo or the other gift (a bracelet), but two bills. This broke her heart, revealing the truth about rich people and showing her that her mother was right.  In this part of the story, it shows that some characters have power, and would use it for their own gain.

As you can see, power and resistance are important to stories. It influences a lesson to be taught to the characters and the readers. Without power, a lesson or plot won't be able to exist in the story. Without resistance to the power, the story is just bland. Power and resistance are very important to building up a story; making the story interesting to read.

Best Book I've Read in 2013

2013 has been a great year. During that year, I have read many books that I consider to be very good. I loved them all by their context, tone, and genre. Out of all the books I've read in the year of 2013, the best book is probably Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes. I loved this book for many reasons. In this blog post, I will be explaining why this book was the best I've read in 2013.

This book focused around Karl, an 18 year old boy who is trying to get himself out of a therapy group, and be normal. This was probably my favorite book of 2013 because it gave off, to me, that John Barnes had an idea of what it felt like being a teen in high school: trying to fit in and be "cool." From this book, it gave his readers an idea of what some teens may be thinking in school and the everyday life of a high schooler. This may also fit a situation of one teen, giving some solutions/advice on how to solve this problem of fitting in. This book also goes through a realistic problem that can occur in some lives of others: having drunk parents, such as Karl's mother. This book was a real opener to me on how you don't know the problems of other people. You shouldn't take that for granted because you never know what others are going through.

Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes was a very inspirational book. Inside, there are many lessons that are being told that could change the lives of others. It could also potentially change how others are treated around the world. By reading this book, many would have a different perspective on life, and would want to take a stand for a change. Barnes had written this book wonderfully, and I'm glad to call it my favorite book of 2013.

Reading Inquiry Post

Everyone has done something nice for others before. They could have planned it or was motivated by the actions of other people. For example, some people could have donated money to charities because they've experienced it, family members, or close friends. Most of these events probably kicked off with a person's motivation. In the book Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley, the main character, Cullen, does a good thing to his friend Lucas, and Lucas doing the same to Cullen.

Cullen just had his cousin, Oslo, die. He's always there to make him feel better, checking in on how Cullen's doing, and on his other family members. Lucas is especially there to look out for Gabriel, Cullen's brother. Lucas feels like Cullen's family is like his own. Lucas probably does this because he doesn't want to lose anyone close to him again. He's scared about the future.

Cullen always tries not to mention a subject: Lucas' brother. Lucas' brother died a few years ago in a car crash. He doesn't bring it up with anyone else around or even mention it to Lucas. Every time Lucas hears a conversation about his brother, he starts to cry. Cullen knows that at night, Lucas curls up into a ball, and cries himself to sleep. Cullen is very generous, for he didn't tell the whole school about Lucas' brother. He knows that it will just corrupt Lucas even more by baring him the pain of always being reminded of his brother. He understands Lucas, and doesn't want to see him suffer more than he already does.

These actions are very nice and generous. This motivates other people to care for their loved ones and close friends. For example, my dad calls my grandma every night to make sure she's okay, talk to her about new TV shows to watch, etc. I also know that losing a loved one can be hard for friends. In elementary school, many loved ones passed away and made a huge impact on my friends. I always tried to comfort them at the time, and tried not to mention the topic or even say their name. I was very cautious. Many emotional things happen in life, but there are many people that have experienced it, too, and those who try to be caring to others during the situation.

Social Justice in my Independent Reading Life

Back in the 60's, many people had bad thoughts on people of different color. They were racist. Some people today still have thoughts on racism, mostly against black people. In books, racism is a great theme to read about, to see how others feel and even change/make up your thoughts. We're all humans, so we should work together and be friendly.

In the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers, the main character Steve Harmon, has suspicions that his lawyer doesn't like him: maybe racist. Whenever he feels worried, he was always looking to his lawyer, O'Brien, to calm him down. But she never made eye contact with him. This shows that some people still have bad thoughts about colored people, maybe based on the way they act. Another racist example may be that in the case, which was robbery and murder, that all the suspects were black. Walter may be implying that some people think black people do bad things often.

I find this kind of sad to think some people judge others by their color, or how they act. First, they should meet the person, then judge them. Those people may be influenced by things they've seen or heard about them. For example, in movies, most of the black people do drugs, alcohol, shoot people with guns, etc., the things that set a bad example of them and are racist. There needs to be social justice on color, for some people don't get the respect they deserve just because of the way their judged.

Non-Fiction Post

Maureen Johnson's article "Yes, teen fiction can be dark - but it shows teenagers they aren't alone", published at theguardian.com, presents her response to Megan Cox Gurdon's article "Darkness to Visible". Maureen disagrees with Megan, that dark YA books should be available to teens to read. Maureen gives her thoughts, asking if Megan has ever read any Tolstoy, Shakespear, Poe, Dickens, etc. for these are authors of to support her claim of "'darkness' doesn't belong in stories". She then takes Fahrenhiet 451, a book about teens committing suicide, running people over with cars, and nuclear wars to say that Megan's inclusion just shows she has a slippery definition for "dark". Maureen says that in some dark YA books, they're about events that could happen in real life, and have teens relate to them. She also states that adults underestimate teens' reading abilities. She wraps up her argument with an example of what she did one night. She posted a tweet on Twitter saying to use the hash-tag #YAsaves if a YA book has changed their lives. In the end, there were 15,000 re-tweets were posted.

Maureen Johnson used some crafts that really put her thoughts into the reader's mind. Her tone was expressing her disbelieve in Megan Cox Gurdon's article, and you could also hear it in your head as you read it as well. She even used a small moment that she experienced, the Twitter post, which is now a popular worldwide topic.

I agree with Maureen Johnson, that dark YA books should be available for teens to read because they can teach teens about life and show that they're not alone. For example, Maureen wrote this line that was very thought provoking: "If subjects like these are in YA books, it's to show that they are real, they have happened to others, and they can be survived. For teenagers, there is sometimes no message more critical than: you are not alone." I really liked this line a lot, for I have had these relations with characters in books, too. All in all, dark YA books may change some teens thoughts on their life, making them feel like they have someone to relate to.

Tales of the Madman Underground Post

            Has a loss ever affected your family? In the book Tales of the Madman

Underground by John Barnes, Karl, an 18 year-old senior in high school, has a mom

whose actions made his life tough. Ever since his father passed away, his mom has

picked off of him. Because of his mom, Karl’s life is all about work, 24/7.

            Karl’s mom’s actions make me feel sorry for him. For example, whenever Karl

makes money from his five jobs, his mom always takes it to buy cigarettes and alcohol.

This makes Karl have to work more than usual, and hide the money. This is important because this gives Karl another thing to worry about. He already has a bunch of burdens he’s carrying around. This makes Karl feel paranoid and upset. This makes the reader understand that Karl has a lot of pressure and that his life is like a scale. If he makes one side too heavy, his life will just sink.

            The reason for this is that his mom is trying to, still, cope with her husband’s

death. So, she’s always getting drunk, and bringing guys home every night. Another

reason may be that she’s upset she also lost her job as a substitute teacher for children.

She loved her job. Ending her job probably made her insecure of other jobs, making her

not want to work anymore. Thus, causing her to instinctively bum off of Karl.

            In real life, there are probably lots of teens with parents who are always drunk, so

they have to work for themselves, and care for themselves, just like Karl.

            What I’m really trying to say is that Karl’s life is really tough since his mom is

not even taking her role as a parent. In other words, she’s the child while Karl is the

parent. All she needs, really, is a helping hand to get her back on her feet. Since there are

probably many parents in the same situation, they also need a helping hand, which can

also save the children from the burden of money, bills, etc.