Book Blog 8 (Final Blog Assesment and Reflections Post)

Ally Dreyer                                                                                                                      
Bell 4
Mrs. Laura Palmer
English

Final Blog Assesment and Reflections Post

Hello everyone!

Sadly, this is my final blog post of the Trimester, and although I really enjoyed posting, it will be nice to take a break. So, in order to really learn from this experience and know about how to improve myself as a writer and reader, I'm going to reflect on my posts from this Trimester.

So, first things first. How has the quality of my writing improved over the course of the trimester? Well, at first blogging for me was very diffucult, and just took way much time, plus I didn't enjoy it at first which really made it a daunting task. Especially, if I didn't really know what to write about, or had not had time to read much that week. Also, I hated adding quotes, so usually I would not do it. However, as time went on, I noticed that I was able to write blog posts faster, add quotes, and get to the point instead of boring the reader with pointless rambling, as well as add depth. For example, my favorite, and probably best post I ever did was on reading skills. I did that post because I wanted to help myself, as well as other readers which helped me learn from this experience and better my writing. Here is evidence of my blog post showing depth, quality, and that I am learning.

"Searching unknown words, languages or references:

In this book, the author loves to use complex words, different languages, and references I may not be familiar with. You see, when I come across something like this in the book, I usually look it to A) Understand the book better or B) Learn more out-of-context. But mostly, it is for my own sake in reading the book. After all, how many teenagers are familiar with Greek gods and myths? Not most teens. For example, here is a quote that had a diffucult word in it. "What if Jason found out that he was their enemy, or something? He might even come out of his amnesia and decide he hated Piper." (Riordan, 298) So, when I came across the word amnesia I looked it up. I looked it up because even though I had an idea of what it meant, I wanted to make sure I knew it correctly."

This shows how I was able to add quotes, get to the point, add depth and learn more, which to me is what Reading Blogs are all about. And, another example is;

"The second theme is; Friends will always be there for you if you are there for them.

Support for this is, "Leo nodded. "No kidding. You've been carrying this around for a week? Piper, we could help you." She glared at them. "Why don't you yell at me or something? I was ordered to kill you!" "Aw, come on," Jason said. "You've saved us both on this quest. I'd put my life in yout hands anyday."" (Riordan, 372)

Which shows support because Piper says that her dad is in trouble and that she couldn't tell her friends because she would have to betray them. However, Leo and Jason say that they trust her and because she saved them, they would help her and be there for her since she was there for them."

Which also shows how much I have grown, and how I really have improved. Plus, its neat to see how one experience can allow you to learn so many things from yourself, and continue to know them so that you can keep improving.

Next, we will talk about my struggles with reading throughout this experience, my strengths, and more about my reading. First question, What was one thing you struggled with through the experience? Well, I know the biggest thing I struggled with was being able to read and blog because usually blogs took me alot of time, and I am a slow reader most of the time which didn't help with trying to blog 2 times a week and read enough to blog. Second question, How did you overcome/work through this struggle? Unfortunately, I don't really think I was able to overcome this struggle much, but I did try to overcome it by blogging quicker and getting more to the point as well as trying to read more. Third question, What was one strength you had with blogging? For me, my biggest strength I had with blogging was being able to learn from the experience and imply my writing skills easily through blogging. And for my fourth and final questions, Did you meet your reading goal, how did you use goodreads, and did you improve in reading? Well, sadly I did not meet my reading because I got hung up on this one book for a month straight, and I found time to read hard to come by, especially since I am a slow reader typically. Next, I used good reads to try and look for new books, and to update my reading. Lastly, Did I improve my reading? Well, I think I did because I could understand my reading better, write better, and really analyze and get in depth with english.

Overall, the Reading Blog experience was an innovative and interesting way that really did help me improve my reading and writing, and I cannot wait to start it back up again next time I have English. Well, this is my final blog post for awhile, so keep reading and see you around!

Book Blog 7 (Overall Thoughts and Analysis of "The Son of Neptune" so far)

Hello everyone!
Have you been reading alot recently? Cause i sure have! Today, im just gonna talk about my overall thoughts and analysis of "The Son of Neptune" so far.

1.  Percy recognizes Reyna from somewhere

In the book, Percy encounters Reyna, one of the leaders of Camp Jupiter. And the weirdest part is, he recognizes her. What happens when he says that? Look:
"" We have met," he decided. "I don't remember when. Please, if you can tell me anything---"
"First things first, " Reyna said. "I want to hear your story. What do you remember? How did you get here? And don't lie. My dogs don't like liars."" (Riordan, 35)
What happens is that she changes the subject and threatens him.  Interesting. I personally believe that Reyna does recognize him but won't tell him and will keep it a secret,

2.  Frank is in trouble for something and we don't know what

In the book, Frank, one of Percy's new friends that saved him and helped him get into Camp Jupiter is in trouble. And we don't know why. I wonder what it was.
"" I'd remind you, Frank Zhang," she said, "you are on probatio yourself. You've caused enough trouble this week." Franks ears turned red." (Riordan, 33)
Which I hope he did not do something really bad. But still, I wonder what he did.

3. Nico claims not to recognize Percy, although he already does

In the book, one of Percy's friends is visiting at Camp Jupiter. However,
Instead of recognizing him and helping him, he ignores him and acts as though he has never heard of him and seen him before. I wonder why.

Anyways, thats my post. This book is very exciting and interesting. Enjoy your reading and blogging!

Book Blog 6 (First Look Book Review/ Reccommendation of "The Son of Neptune")

Hello everyone!
How's your blogging going? Anyways, i have started a new book! Yay! And, ive already read 60 pages so im gonna start this book blog off with a first look book review. Woohoo! Lets read my blog entry now, shall we?

The Son of Neptune. Interesting title right? You bet. You see, this book is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Now, if you know about Rick Riordan you would know how he writes about fictional greek demigods. But this time its different. This time it is Roman demigods.  And  Percy Jackson, a character from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as the missing camper in "The Lost Hero", finds himself without memory here. Doesn't that sound like Jason from the "The Lost Hero"? Well, they are connected, and soon there destinies will collide. But not yet. In this book, Percy is very confused and only remembers one name. Annabeth. Before he can find out who she is, he must battle some fierce monsters,
Save Juno the Goddess, and get accepted into the Roman Demigod camp, Camp Jupiter. However, alot of the Romans do not trust him because he is greek, and the son of Neptune, one of the  most feared and also hated  Roman gods.
Now before i stopped on page 60, i wanted to  also mention that Percy meets someone from his past that recognizes him but doesnt say anything. Want to find out who this is?
Want to find out if Percy gets his memory back?

Find out, in the intense and exciting "The Son of Neptune". A true 5/5 star book that readers won't put down.

Book Blog 5 (Themes in "The Lost Hero")

Hello fellow readers!
Is that time to post again huh? Well, today I'm posting about theme to go with me finishing "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan. Well, lets get started!

So again, as I already mentioned, my post will be about theme. Now for my book,
There is a definite since of friendship and good vs evil, as well as missing loved ones, and since these are so broad the theme could be anything. However , if you narrow down that thought and really look at the book closely you can find two main themes.

The first theme is; A group can overcome anything if they work together as one.

My support for this is, ""An exchange goes two ways," Jason said. "When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn't know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you're not my enemy."" (Riordan, 552)

Which helps support it because Jason is basically  saying after they completed the quest, he finally felt happy and like he belonged at his new home and that without Piper and  Leo he would never have been able to succeed or be happy again.

The second theme is;  Friends will always be there  for you if you are there for them.

Support for this is, "Leo nodded. "No kidding. You've been carrying this around for a week? Piper, we could help you." She glared at them. "Why don't you yell at me or something? I was ordered to kill you!" "Aw, come on," Jason said. "You've saved us both on this quest. I'd put my life in yout hands anyday."" (Riordan, 372)

Which shows support because Piper says that her dad is in trouble and that she couldn't tell her friends because she would have to betray them. However, Leo and Jason say that they trust her and because she saved them, they would help her and be there for her since she was there for them.

So, thats my second post for this week.  I hope you all enjoyed. Remember to keep reading!

Book Blog 4 (Reading Skills I have used while reading "The Lost Hero")

Hello fellow readers!

Have you been reading alot of books? I hope so. Anyways, I am still on the Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. Although it is a good book, I can't wait to start a new one. The good news is that I only have about  100 pages left to read! Woohoo!
Anyhow, today my post shall be about Reading Skills. Although, reading skills can sometimes be a pain to use and I would much rather just read, they can be very helpful and make you a better reader. Not to mention writer! So, on with the post!
In my book the Lost Hero, the author uses lots of Ancient Greek and Roman myths in his writing, and even makes the characters speak in different languages, uses old terms originally from Greece and Rome, and uses many complex words. This can often be a problem for most readers, considering that they probably know nothing about Greece or Rome, or don't speak those languages. But, like a good reader I use reading skills.

• Searching unknown words, languages or references:

In this book, the author loves to use complex words, different languages, and references I may not be familiar with. You see, when I come across something like this in the book, I usually look it to A) Understand the book better or B) Learn more out-of-context. But mostly, it is for my own sake in reading the book. After all, how many teenagers are familiar with Greek gods and myths? Not most teens. For example, here is a quote that had a diffucult word in it. "What if Jason found out that he was their enemy, or something? He might even come out of his amnesia and decide he hated Piper." (Riordan, 298) So, when I came across the word amnesia I looked it up. I looked it up because even though I had an idea of what it meant, I wanted to make sure I knew it correctly.

• Infer/Predicting:

In this book, a lot happens really fast, and important details fly at you every page. So, for me to help remember what I was reading and to keep up with the pacing of the book I would infer and predict every chapter to help me better understand what I was reading.

• Visualization:

In this book, the author uses a lot of description and really dwelves into the details of places in his book. So, in order to make my brain more satisified with reading and really get the picture the author was trying to create, I visualized.

• Reread

In this book, like I have said previously, is quite complex but entertaining to read. And of course, it's one of those books that often likes you to remember every little detail and keep up with the pacing. Yet, sometimes it is just hard to understand what the author is trying to communicate through his work. So, I reread difficult sentences that are hard to understand, or when I'm just trying to remember the details. For example, this quote was hard to understand when I first read it, and so I reread to understand it better. " Yet as Piper watched, the woman's appearence changed. Piper couldn't decide the color of her eyes, or the exact color of her hair. The woman became more and more beautiful, as if her image were aligning itself to Piper's thoughts---getting as close as possible to Piper's ideal of beauty." (Riordan, 428)

Well, thats my reading skills I have been, and still am using. You should try using them too! It will help you alot! Anyways, keep reading and use those skills! See you when I post next!!!

Book Blog 3 (Characters in "The Lost Hero")

Hello again everyone!
How's your reading going? Well, I've done a lot of reading these past few days, and I'm very close to the end of this book already. I guess when you read a lot, time just flies by! Anyways, today I'm going to talk to you about the Characters in my book as I've read so far, and hopefully you can make connections with our characters, or just enjoy reading about them. So, lets begin.

Jason Grace. Where do I even begin? Well, lets start at the beginning of the book. At the beginning,  he is a rather complicated individual, but I don't blame him for that. Why? Well, lets just say that its hard to be yourself when you don't remember anything about your past. That's right, Jason remembers nothing about his past. This leads him to being confused, untrusting, cautious, and even a bit depressed in the beginning. But don't worry, it gets better! So far anyway... But, as of now he has revealed that he is actually a very strong and brave leader, as he leads his friends on a quest to save Hera/Juno. Not to mention, that he is also very caring for his friends, even though he never actually knew them before hand.

Next up is Piper McLean! In the beginning, Piper comes across as a tomboyish, frustrated, confused, yet caring girl. I think all of this is the fact that she and Leo are confused about why Jason can't remember anything and she really hates it when she finds out that the girly-girl goddess Aphrodite (Goddess of love) is her mother. Boy, are they very different from each other. But later, she actually seems like a powerful, confident, loving teen. And seems to really care for people in general.

And finally, we have Leo Valdez! At the start, Leo comes across as that annoying third-wheel, who is always hyper, and seems unfunny and dorky. Yes, I admit that even though Leo is supposed to be an amazing character all the time, I really disliked him at first. However, as the book went on he kind of grew on me. Especially when more character development occurred and I found out more about his personality. Because as the book went on, he turned out to actually be an awesome guy! He was selfless, clever, actually funny, and he was also very protective of his friends.

Together, these characters provide an interesting link to the plot and make the story a really awesome read. So, do any of your characters remind you of these characters? Think about it! Anyways, thanks for reading my post and enjoy your reading too!


 

Book Blog 2 (First Look Book Review of "The Lost Hero")

Hello everyone! How's your reading going?
Well, recently I just finished two books, The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan and they were amazing! But, I'm not here to talk about them, I'm here to talk about the newest book I started today. The book I started today was The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan! Now, if you cannot tell I really love his work, but for now we are just going to talk about the Lost Hero.
Today, I got to page 22, and boy what a start this book has! When you first open the book, you meet Jason, a teenager who wakes up on a loud bus headed for the Grand Canyon, holding hands with some girl he doesn't know. Now... I know this sounds odd, but it turns out the Jason has lost his memory. He can't remember anything about his own past, and needs his "friends" (whom of which he does not recall being friends with but they remember him apparently) Leo and Piper to tell him his name. You heard me! He doesn't even know his name! It's quite a horrible thing to discover about this character, and you feel bad for him, but you know that in your heart something will probably wind up being ok eventually. Right? Well, so far... wrong. After meeting Jason, Leo and Piper, the bus begins to pull up to a skywalk at the Grand Canyon to do some work together. Now why are they on a bus headed for the Grand Canyon? Well, apparently Leo, Piper, and Jason are all "horrible children" and have been sent to this place called Wilderness School. That's how this how happened in the first place apparently. So, after doing work and meeting some of his fellow classmates, Jason stumbles upon random and painful headaches, and also meets Coach Hedge, their teacher. And then, after having thrown a ton of information at him, Jason is told he is a half-blood. Jason doesn't know what it is and it freaks him out a bit, especially considering that Piper and Leo also turn out to be half-bloods. After this, it seems as though the introductions are done and its time for something interesting to happen. And yes, something very interesting does happen! One of their classmates, Dylan is actually a Storm Spirit and starts to attack Coach Hedge and the half-bloods. What happens next? I don't know yet, but this book is already an awesome, action-packed adventure that is bound to keep me wanting to read more.
Anyways, as of right now, I give this book a 4/5 and I must say, if you like action and interesting plots, pick up this book! I can already tell it's going to be a real treat to read!
As always, Have fun with your reading and read the Lost Hero if you get a chance!
Now, I'm off to read!


 

Book Blog 1 (Summer Reading Book "I'll Be There")

In my Summer Reading Book, I'll Be There the characters seem complex, but are simple enough to understand and really develop over the course of the story. You see, the characters are all very different at the beginning and change differently by the end. Some characters change a lot, some barely change. But they all show change. An example of a character that changes a lot is Bobby Ellis. In the beginning, Bobby Ellis is a confident, popular, love struck, teenager that has feelings for Emily Bell. This leads him to find out about her "friend" Sam Smith and provides a lot of plot development in the book. Over the course of the story, Bobby makes every attempt to get closer to Emily, and eventually it just gets on her nerves. Although, Bobby Ellis is there for Emily in many points of the book and is a friend of hers, he winds up losing all feelings for her and they don't remain friends by the end. Why? Well, for many reasons, and the fact that Sam Smith had come back to town alive. This leads Bobby Ellis to change a lot at the very end. He is no longer friends with Emily, or has feelings for her, and changes his name, begins to lack confidence, and begins to become desperate and depressed. This leads him to chase after many girls in the end in hope they might date him. It is a sad, but dramatic change in the book, and is definitely noteworthy considering his impact on the book. Evidence of his change in the book is shown in this quote, " Once she was gone, Bobby announced that he now wanted to be known as Robb. With two bs. He had a six-month, fourteen- point plan in place for a new identity." (Sloan, 391) So, as you can see this book definitely has somewhat complex characters that change a lot over the course of the book
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514CYX7tf4L.jpg

Now, below this is a link to an article about a review of how amazing and touching this book truly is. It is written by Geraldine Brennan and is from the Guardian UK/ The Observer website. Read the article below. Enjoy!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/29/ill-be-there-holly-goldberg-sloan-review

Above is a video of a book summary from Pick of the Week and talks about my book! Don't worry though, it does not give away anything major or important.

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed my little book talk on the amazing book, I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan.