Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

          When you're life is so miserable and hopeless, you just have one dream. To escape the torture. But how would you feel when suddenly one more thing is added to your life to make it more miserable? Devastated? Heartbroken? Inconsolable? Maybe all these emotions all together. Wouldn't these emotions affect your personality as well as others around you? Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano is about a girl, who was named Nearly at birth just because she nearly survived and her mom didn't have a name in mind; but her bestfriend, Jeremy, later makes up the name Leigh to make her get rid of her insecurity. On top of a strange name, her father left her and her mom alone to be independent and live by themselves. However this was not all. Nearly is very ambitous and she tries her best to receive the scholarship that is like a ticket for her to escape her horrible life. Soon students from her school  gets murdered brutally and all the exidence points at Nearly as the main top suspect. Nearly is on the verge of getting arrested and no matter how hard she tries to save the innocent lives of the students, she fails. Nearly's personality affect other characters in many ways.
          No matter what, Nearly is a person full of determination, hope, kindness and stubborness. Everyone thinks of Nearly as a quiet girl who is very intelligent. Ironically Nearly's personality is what gets her in trouble and affects other characters in a negative way. For example, everyday Nearly reads the personal ads found in the newspaper, in hopes of some clue to find her father. But oneday when Nearly noticed an unusual ad that seemed to have some connection with the first victim, she decides to tell a police detective about her discovery. When the police detective ask Nearly why she came, the text says, "Telling someone seemed like the right thing to do, that's all." (Page 72) Despite her efforts of trying to help the police solve the case, the police detective, Nicholson, became more suspectful of her. Nearly's personality of trying to do the right thing caused Nicholson have someone to spy on her and make her feel more insecure. Nicholson now suspects Nearly as the murderer of the victims. Another way Nearly's personality affects other characters is by getting them annoyed. For instance, when Jeremy finds out that Nearly has been reading the personal ads to look for her dad, it says, "Jeremy shook his head. "It's beein five years, Leigh. Are you ever going to just let it go?" "I can't. What if he comes back?" "He's not coming back, and you're wasting your life waiting for him..." (Page 151) Although its been many years, Nearly is still hopeful about her father's return. However Nearly's hope and determination annoys her bestfriend, Jeremy. Jeremy really cares about Nearly and in the end, doesn't want her feelings to get hurt. It makes Jeremy sad to watch his bestfriend hang on to a hopeless dream. And finally when Teddy, a student Nearly tutors, come to talk to Nearly, he says, "Mrs. Smallwood is taking us to the Smithsonia next Friday. I asked if I could bring a date, but she said it's just for the special ed kids." He blinked both eyes in lieu of a wink. "I think you're special, but she says you can't go." I ruffled Teddy's hair, soaking him up." (Page 95) Although Teddy is a special ed student, Nearly still treats him as equal as all the other kids. She doesn't discriminate him among her other friends. She believes he's a special person in her heart. This side of Nearly's personality makes everyone love her, trust her and become friends with her. All in all, Nearly's personality affects people in ways that can make their day happy or in ways that can start suspect or annoyance.
           In conclusion, the main character's personality affect other characters in various ways. I learned that your personality could have a big or small impact on someone's life. It can either save them or at least bring a smile to their day. But sometimes it can hurt their feelings. Therefore, we should always be careful about how we act. We have to learn to control our emotions in order to have a good personality. Everyone should read this book. It's a "brilliantly plotted murder mystery with a math/science twist."

Immigration: Obama vs. Congress

          The article, "Immigration: Obama vs. Congress" by Patricia Smith, is about the controversy of President Obama's executive order which protect 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation and allows them to work legally in the U.S. for the first time. There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States from all over the world, and every time they're out in the streets they walk in fear of deportation. While the immigrants cheer, the Republicans are outraged because they believe the president abused his authority by passing the executive order without consent from Congress. Democrats believe in legalizing the people who came to U.S. illegally, but the Republicans, on the other hand, work to tighten border security, with some already talking about increasing deportation. Throughout the article, the author  talks about both sides of the argument, however, the author seems to lean more towards the fact that the executive order was great. 

          The author clearly believes that President Obama did the right thing to pass the executive order.The author portrays her views by using narratives from immigrants stating their opinions/ feelings. One of the immigrant, Paola Fernandez, who came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico at age 4, says, "We've been here close to 25 years. On a very personal level, this is a very amazing moment." This shows that the immigrants were very happy. Many of these immigrants came to America in desperate hopes of earning money for their family back in their national country; For many years, some of these immigrants weren't able to see their families. Throughout the article, the author wants me and other readers to feel the sadness and fear the immigrants feel of getting deported and how content they feel about the executive order. 

          Overall, I believe President Obama did the right thing to issue an executive order protecting undocumented immigrants. Immigrants are part of our society; they're shopping, working, helping and even could be our friends or relatives. The United States is believed to be a safe place to live in, so the immigrants should not have to live in fear. Besides, many years ago, if people from other countries came to settle in America even with Native Americans already living there, why should we (Americans) have a problem with immigrants coming to our country? In this article, I realized that in the U.S. there are many undocumented immigrants and that they constantly live in fear of getting deported. This is yet another step to make America a better place for everyone, regardless of race, color or country of origin, to live in peace. 

When all the adults are GONE who takes over? Find out in the book GONE by Michael Grant

          "It's not about who's got powers, morons. It's about who's not afraid. And who's going to do what has to be done."- Michael Grant. Whether you have physical or mental power isn't significant when it comes to leadership. When the people determine who their leader would be, they observe their character, personality and capabilities to lead. A real leader manifest bravery, courage and doing the right thing. Gone by Michael Grant is a captivating and compelling book about a place in Florida called Perdido Beach where mysterious and unusual things started to happen. All of a sudden, everyone from the age of 15 disappears and the teens, middle schoolers and the toddlers learn survive and rely on each other. And on the kid's 15th birthday, at the exact time of birth, they vanish in the blink of an eye. Hunger threatens and everyone are frightened. Sides are being chosen and a strong, reliable and valiant leader is in need to organize everyone and everything. The characters in Gone resist the power of other characters in many ways. 
          In need of an efficient leader or a genuine, valiant leader you need to resist. A lot of times, when you don't want another person to take over leadership, what do you do? You take over before they even have a chance. This situation has happened in Gone. Sam is a quiet surfer boy who stands up for the right thing in difficult times. He once had had saved a school bus from crashing just at a young age and he saved a little girl terrified and trapped in a burning building. Everyone sense a true leader in him and the bullies are jealous and fear him for anytime Sam could rise up and take over. However to prevent this, the bullies inform everyone that now they are in charge and the main bully,Orc, is their leader and shall be called "Captain Orc." People are too afraid to resist the bullies's power. However, there are times when people resist. For example, when Sam, Astrid, Quinn and Edilio ignore "Captain Orc" there was an imminent danger of getting beat up. And that's exactly what happened. When Sam realizes that it was his fault that his friend's were getting beat up, it says, "Sam made a flying leap at Cookie. He grabbed Cookie in the crook of one arm and yanked him forward with his momentum. Cookie landed hard on his belly, and Sam rolled free." (Page 94) This quote is meaningful because it shows that Sam has courage and strength to defeat "obstacles" on his way. When he sees something wrong he stands up for it. Sam doesn't care who is in charge except if unworthy leaders take over, they have a problem coming. If you possess better leadership skills, you just take over by conveying your ideas and giving support and care for those in fear. Claine is a suspicious stranger and a student from Coates Academy, where rich parents sent you if other schools found you "difficult". Claine and his little group comes to Perdido Beach and Claine display potential leadership skills and tries to get people to his side. After organizing everyone and giving 10 nominated candidates essential jobs, Claine takes over the mayor's office. Despite having skeptical people confused about who's really leader, Claine eliminates anyone against him. Sam and the others soon realize that Claine's not a wonderful leader after all, although he has the majority of tough and powerful people. Sam resist to Claine's power by brewing a big tornado meaning to prepare for bloodshed. War seems very imminent. Claine better watch out, because a fire tornado is heading his way. For instance Sam talks to all his supporters and says, "Here's the thing. We're not going to give in. We're going to fight." (Page 410- 411) This is really meaningful because finally Sam decides to be a true leader. Moreover perceiving that Claine is pure evil and takes advantage of his powers, Sam is determined to take Claine down. Sam's words are powerful and no one can resist his power.
          To sum up, characters need to resist the power of other characters to reach an efficient and close-to-perfect leader. This matters because many times, there are terrible leaders. These leaders sometimes misuse and takes advantages of their power. This is unacceptable and intolerable. Teenagers can connect to this book because they realize they may have potential leadership skills ans when time of difficulty arrive, one must rise up and speak for all. Furthermore, the book can teach teenagers to be independent and depend on themselves for survival. Gone depicts a dystopian society where there are no adults and teens can learn to not rely on adults. he book prepares teens of what sort of problems they might be facing if all the adults are gone. Teens would also realize how important a leader's job is. If a deceitful person takes over, you should always stand up, fight and permanently remove him/ her from being a leader.      

Mockingjay Part 1

           The movie Mockingjay Part 1, based on the 3rd book of the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was an inspiring movie that makes you think more about our world today. The themes that appeared in Mockingjay Part 1 was very similar to what happens in reality. Mockingjay is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen who becomes the face of the new nation; district 13. Her words moves people's thinking into deeper understanding that their capitol, the government, is not as great as it might seem. Katniss faces grief of the destruction of her home district (District 12) and sees what has happened to people that supported her. The injured and dead people who are helpless need her help and Katniss decides she will be their Mockingjay which symbolize leader along with rebellion against the government. Throughout the movie, there were many themes. 

          One theme that was present in the movie was violence. From ages 12 to 18, kids are entered in the hunger games and 24 kids/teenagers are chosen at random. They are forced to survive, fight and kill each other. In Mockingjay, it was mentioned that the games destroyed Katniss. This is very true. Killing and surviving in a difficult place can traumatize a kid/ teenager for their whole life. It is very frightening and who would actually want to kill anyone? Moreover because of rebellion against the capitol, the government of Panem killed many innocent people. The capitol bombed hospitals and destroyed districts. This shows what a corrupt government is capable of doing. In our world today there are many examples of violence. For example ISIS a terrible, extremist terrorist group in the Middle East are killing innocent lives just because people are not being extremely religious. Another example is the death of Eric Garner along with Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin who were suspected by the police of crimes they hadn't committed. In fact they were killed for that. The violence and killing of innocent people is very disturbing. 

          Another theme that was present in the movie was rebellion. When everyone realizes that the capitol is corrupt and that President Snow takes advantage of his powers, people starts to rebel. And the capitol would do anything to hunt down these rebels even if it means to shoot them at the spot. Because of Katniss's character and personality people trust her and expect her to do something to stop the capitol. Katniss's courage, strength and her words motivate people to defeat the capitol. With her rebellion, more people join. However this rebellion causes many deaths. This is alot similiar to what happens in reality. For example, the three-fingered salute which appears in the hunger games series, is a symbol used to show solidarity against a dystopian government, was used in Thailand by five students who hated their military led government. Their use of the three-fingered salute got them arrested just like what happened to many people in the hunger games series.

          Overall, the themes that appeared in Mockingjay is very similar to what happens in our world. Although with different situations, they all share a similar theme/ message. Mockingjay was a great movie that leads you to deeper understanding and teaches you to stand up for yourself and make sacrifices for all. I really recommend Mockingjay and the whole Hunger Games trilogy to readers who are looking for adventure and love science fiction books that take place in dystopian worlds. 

     

Response Based on Inquiry Question and Synthesis Page: The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer By Michelle Hodkin

          "Never try to solve all the problems at once - make them line up for you one-by-one."-Richard Sloma. There are times when we are faced with so many problems to deal. However it's difficult for people to find solutions to their problems. There are many ways to deal with your problems. The book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, an amazing book to read, is about a girl named Mara Dyer who is in a state of shock of her friend's death due to an old asylum collapsing. Mara doesn't even remember what really happpened and why but soon she starts to recall her memories in her dreams and finds a huge power that lies within her. That power can kill anyone she wishes to kill or hate a lot. Mara is very confused and afraid of what she is capable of. Throughout the book, Mara Dyer deals with her problems in many ways.

          Many times, Mara runs away from her problems than actually facing it. She tries to escape from all her anxiety and be somewhere where she can't hurt her loved ones. She just gives up and think that there are no more solutions to help her go through what she's facing. For example, Mara gets really mad at her brother's kidnapper and immagines someone killing the man. However her plan to kill her brother's kidnapper almost killed her dad. Mara feels very remorseful about it and plans to make up lies so she would be put in jail, where she really wouldn't be able to harm the people she cares for. When Mara realize that she has no way to be fixed, she says, "All of my choices had been wrong. Everything I touched I would destroy. If I stayed, it could be Joseph or Daniel or my mother or Noah, next. But I couldn't just disappear, with my parent's resources, I'd be found in hours."(Page 449) This quote is very meaningful because it shows that Mara really loves and cares for other's lives. She really doesn't want to hurt anyone. Infact she wants to control her power so she wouldn't use it by accident. The mood of this quote is remorseful because Mara feels that it's her fault that her dad is in a death situation. Her dad almost could've died! However I think Mara shouldn't feel guilty because it's not her fault that she can't control her powers. Her emotions just naturally controls it. I think Mara should learn to control her emotions first. She should take baby steps such as starting to open up to her close ones. Another way Mara run away from her problems is that she moves to a whole different state and leaves behind everything including the place she had lived ever since she was born. For instance after her bestfriend Rachel's funeral Mara explains to her mom why moving will help her a lot, "She was always in this house - I can't look at anything without thinking about her. And if I go back to school, I'll see her there, too. But I want to go back to school. I need to. I need to think about something else." (Page 16) This quote is meaningful because someway or the other, everyone can connect to this. When we face greif, we try to move on by hanging out with our friends or doing things you like to do. Instead of moving to a whole different state, Mara should enjoy her life and move on. She would still be remembering her friends but she should realize that her friends would now be in a better place. A lot of people in reality tends to run away from their problems rather than facing them and finding solutions. Running away from your problems doesn't seem like a brave choice. As Edwin Louis Cole once said, "You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there," meaning when you fall in the waters, which symbolize a problem, you drown because you just stay there, which symbolizes that you don't do anything to solve your problem. However when you use your techniques and start swimming you prevent yourself from drowning. This symbolize finding solutions to your problems. All in all, characters in books and in reality usually run away from their problems and just gives up on finding solutions.

          Another way Mara deals with her problems is by seeking help. She tries communicating with other people and ask them for advice. She looks for the person who would understand her and help her go through her problems. For example, Mara shares her thoughts, feelings and her personal problems with her boyfriend, Noah, who she really loves, trust and knows that he would understand and help her fix herself. It says, " 'Fix me,' I commanded him. 'This thing, what I've done - there's something wrong with me, Noah. Fix it.' " (Page 393) This is meaningful, because it shows that Mara really wants everything to be fixed and back to the way it was before. It also shows that Mara actually tries to go through her problems. She's not afraid to hide her problems from her family and friends. Sharing your problems with your very close and loved ones is a very good idea. When they understands you, you feel supported and both of you can help each other. Another way Mara seeks help is by seeing a pshychologists and asking what's wrong with her. When all the other solutions doesn't seem to be working, Mara gives a final try. When Mara asks Noah where they're going he answers, "1821 Calle Ocho," Noah said. "You wanted to go back to the botanica, didn't you?" This quote shows that Noah really cares for Mara and wants to help her figure out her power. Noah also seems to know exactly what Mara wants to do. By seeking her boyfriend's help, Mara feels safe and more confident and motivated to find a solution. As you can see, seeking help is a great way to deal with your problems.

          Overall, Mara Dyer has many different ways to deal with her problems. This is important because many people throughout the world needs to realize that sometimes in order to solve your problems, you need to try different things and see if they work. There won't be only one solution; infact there would be many solutions to that problem. Teenagers can connect to this because they can realize that giving up is a cowardly act. They should be valiant and overcome any obstacles that come their way. This book thaught me that you need to work hard to solve your problems. By sharing your feelings and seeking help you really get supported and it gives you an idea to solve your problems. Running away from your problems should be the last thing you do. To sum up, you can deal with your life problems in many ways.                                                                        

Nonfiction Reading Response on Upfront Article

          The article, "No Job? Get Lost!" by Andrew Higgins, is about Norway's northernmost territory, Svalbard, that doesn't allow unemployment. In Svalbard you cannot live there, if you didn't have a job. Even the retirees are deported unless they had proof that they can support themselves. In this part of Norway, even homelessness is not allowed. Everyone had to have a permanent address. Moreover Svalbard rarely has any crimes.The author also talks about how the police enforced a rule that anyone moving outside the city limits of Longyearbyen must carry a weapon and know how to use it. In that case, the rule includes kids too! To sum up, Svalbard has its good sides of being one of the safest place to live but also the bad sides of unemployment not being allowed. 

          The author suported his opinion by adding a lot of details, quotes and elaboraton. His bias seems to be be more for the fact that Svalbard is a great place to live. For example he uses a lot of loaded words such as law-abiding society, prides and lawlessness. These words indicates a positive impression that Svalbard is a safe place to live. The author supports this by saying, "Residents regularly leave their car and snow mobile keys in the ignition and don't bother locking their front doors." Leaving your door open is a big risk to take and there might be cases of stolen items. However in Svalbard the people don't have to worry about their things getting stolen. The author added the perspective of Governor Odd Olsen Ingero of Svalbard and Mark Sabbatini, an American in Svalbard. Yet I think if the author added the perspective of the residents living in that place, it would make his argument stronger. All in all though, the article indicates that Svalbard is a great and safe place to live.

          This article has taught me a lot of things. I never knew that there was a place where unemployment wasn't allowed. I learned that Svalbard is so safe that people don't need to worry about leaving their doors unlocked. There's not many crimes in Svalbard. In total, the police in Svalbard handle about 100 cases a year. Compare to other countries this is really little amount of crimes. On the other hand, the price of fresh foods is very shocking. A gallon of milk in Svalbard is $27 , the world's most expensive milk. Compared to the United States that sell milk for about $3.70, Svalbard's price is too expensive. Even with the expensive prices I personally think Svalbard would be an amazing place to live. 

          

          

"Darkness Too Visible" Response

          The article, "Darkness Too  Visible" by Megan Cox Gurdon is about the author's opinion that Young Adult books are inappropriate for teenagers. Throughout the article the author provides many evidence to support her claim that Young Adult books contain dark topics such as pederasty, kidnapping, incest and brutal beatings. For evidence the author uses many challenged books to show that Young Adult books have many inappropriate topics that parents wouldn't want their kids to read about. There's many parents that don't want their kids to learn about disturbing topics of reality or the fictional world. Even the most popular books can have a dark side to it. 

          Throughout "Darkness Too Visible" the author uses a lot of loaded words. For example, the author used words such as brutality, ugliness, crude, despoliation and other words to describe Young Adult books. These words make me feel that Young Adult books aren't appropriate for teenagers after all. This is because such words indicate negativity in young adult books. Throughout the article the author uses a lot of parent's/adult's perspective but does not include a Young Adult book reader's perspective. 

          The article is definitely argumentative. I disagree with the author claim that Young Adult books are inappropriate for teenagers. Although young adult books can have dark topics, not all of them belong to the category. What is a dark topic depends on the reader as a whole. For example if the reader like violent topics, the reader would have a violent taste. Also if the reader is comfortable with reading Young Adult books with dark topics then there shouldn't be any problem. However the article did make me realize something. What I realized is that many books I have read that I felt comfortable reading were actually some of the challenged books because of adult/parent concerns of dark topics throughout the books. I also realized that parents and other adults think about dark topics in general. They don't think about what readers can learn from them. There's so much values and ideas young readers can learn from Young Adult books. Moreover the article included a lot of parents/adults perspective but didn't bother to add reader's perspective, opinions or quotes. I think Megan Cox Gurdon could've made her argument more stronger by adding reader's perspective because people who actually experienced reading Young Adult books are way different than people who knows about the topics of a Young Adult book. Overall I think throughout the article the author, Megan Cox Gurdon could've added about readers who actually experienced Young Adult books.