Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 10-24-13

Neverwhere pages 1-96

• Describe the setting – when and where what you are reading takes place.

So I would have started blogging this sooner but it was taking a vacation in that one pocket in my backpack that I put things and then forget the pocket exists.... It's like a reverse Narnia for pockets because books can't tell time. Anyway I've been liking it so far, I'm sure it'll start to make more sense later, but I'm liking it.

So on to where it takes place! It takes place in London, England, and so far as of now it's mostly in the underground. There is a map of the underground train routs and such -I think- but what the heck is the point of a map WHEN THE LETTERS ARE TO SMALL FOR YOU TO READ?!? Thats been bugging me a bit but oh well. I am not all that familiar with London but I know that due to all of the tunnels and such Big Ben is having structural issues so there must be a lot of them.... At the beginning it was taking place on the surface of London, but due to things that happen he has no need to be there, and the girl he's looking for is going to be under so thats where he is looking for her. 

     I'll be farther into it on the next blog so I'll be able to be into more depth, it's really interesting. Personally I'm a fan of the Neil Gaiman books my parents will let me read, so I have pretty good expectations for this one. 

On The Fringe: A Letter From the Fringe 10-15-13

Describe the most important event. Give at least three reasons why you think it

is the most important event.

Pages read- 1 - all

A Letter From The Fringe Page 181-191

   So this story, one of two favorites since "Standing On The Roof Naked" (The other being "Guns For Geeks" which I didn't choose because it didn't have as strong of a message in my opinion,) is about a group of kids who sort of bond together, similarities being that their all the victims of other people. It's from the POV of Dana, who's friend Sally gets harassed in the first couple pages.

"TODAY THEY GOT SALLY.

   She wasn't doing anything. Just eating a cookie that her aunt made for her. It was a serious cookie too. She'd given me one. It was still in my mouth with the white chocolate and pecans and caramel all swirling together.

     I saw Doug Booker before she did.

     Saw his eyes get that hard glint they always get right before they say something mean. Watched him walk towards us squeezing his hands into fists, getting psyched for the match. He's a champion varsity wrestler known for overwhelming his opponents in the first round. He was joined by Charlie Bass, brute ice hockey goalie, who was smirking and laughing like the mere sight of her hurt his eyes. Get The Geeks  is a popular ritual among the jock flock at Bronley High.
    I swallowed my cookie. Felt my stomach tense. It was too late to grab Sally and walk off.
    "Fun company at four o' clock" I warned her. 
     Sally looked up to smirks. Her face went pale."

    So to summarize their encounter with the jocks Sally is called fat  (on her birthday, how rude is that!?) and Dana tries to comfort her. At the end of the story Dana contemplates writing a letter to the group that bully  all the kids she sits with at lunch, which is without doubt  the most impacting, and to me, the most important part of the story. 

"'This letter could be from the nerd with thick glasses in the computer lab. It could be from the 'zit girl' who won't look anyone in the eye because she's embarrasses about her skin. It could be from the guy with the nose ring who you call queer, or any of the kids whose sizes don't match your ideal."

 This is all a great start but later in the letter is what really stands out, which is why I'm skipping a little in order to get to it.

"I think of the butterflies in the science museum. There are hundreds of them in different cases. hundreds of different kinds. If they were all the same, it would be so boring. You can't look at the blue ones or the striped ones and say they shouldn't have been born. It seems like nature is trying to tell us something. Some trees are tall, some are short. Some places have mountains, others have deserts. Some cities are always warm, others have different seasons. Flowers are different. Animals. Why do human beings think they have the right to pick who's best-- who's acceptable and who's not."

This is something humans in general, but kids our age and a bit older really need to get a grasp of, which I why I think that schools need to read this book in all classes if they want to minimize bullying because of the fact that you hear the stories from the victims points of view. You can understand what's going through their heads. Not only should the students read it though, but the entire staff of the school should too, from the principle to the janitors, because some just need a better understanding.  Another reason this part is so important is because its the main idea of the whole story, it's in the title that there's a letter involved! The last reason the letter is important is in the story it's self. Remember how I mentioned in parentheses that it was Sally's birthday? Well Dana puts a copy of the letter in a late card and puts it in an envelope with her friends name on it to give to her as a little mood pick me up, which is what friends are for in this kind of situation. I just thought it was a cute ending.

On The Fringe: Standing On The Roof Naked 10-8-13

*Are the characters realistic (do they seem like they could be real people)? Why or why not?

So, Standing On The Roof Naked, my favorite short story in this collection so far,  is about a girl named Jeanie. She's flat chested, has short hair, and dresses like a boy.
"Supposedly there aren't any tomboys anymore. Nowadays girls can be anything we want to be.  Astronauts,  construction workers, basketball stars. Why would any self respecting girl want to act like a guy? We can be female and still do it all. So then why did the Spice girls, those so-called spokeswomen of Girl Power, wear miniskirts up to their pubic hair? Why do all the girls in my school giggle and preen whenever a cute guy walks by? And why is it that most girls spend more money on a single haircut than the average Ethiopian family spends on food for an entire year? Believe me, feminism is a long, long way from being a reality. So don't blame me when I don't want to dress like a stripper and act dumb so some loser stud can feel important. I'm no hypocrite. I'm walking the walk, not just talking the talk. Only the truth is, that's just the story I tell myself to feel better. Actually, I don't know why i wanted to be a boy until I was thirteen years old, and why, to this day, I still feel more comfortable in baggy boy clothes than in dresses. Or why I like my hair short and tangled and in my eyes instead of long and silky like some Pantene commercial. And I can't explain why I'd rather stay at home and listen to CD's than go to the school dance. Or why, at fifteen, I still haven't kissed a boy, let alone done the dirty deed. All I know is that I'm different. And in this world, let me tell you, different is not good."
This the best hook to any of the stories so far. Also, I completely agree with her view on feminists, it does have a long way to go. I can completely imagine her as a real person, or at least being based off of someone that the author knew.  A lot of trans gender teens could probably read this and really relate to her.
So, in the story her two best friends have moved away, and her dad is sick from cancer (and dies at the end). Plus, her mom doesn't seem capable of comprehending the fact that her daughter doesn't like wearing dresses. As well as the two jocks at school that think that it's humorous to call her Johnny and make fun of her. At one point shoving her into the boys bathroom to see for themselves what her real gender was, which was interrupted by Reilly, a boy that creates rap music who she was paired up with by a teacher because she writes poetry. Just for fun, and because Reilly needed lyrics. After they create a song the school dance happens. Jeanie's mom makes her go, wearing a dress. She sits alone at a table until Reilly calls her up to sing and starts the music for the song.
"Soon everyone is applauding, cheering- some sincerely, some with ironic smiles on their faces because they think it's all a big joke. And I'm standing  there in my bike shorts and undershirt, barefoot, shredded dress at my feet,  suddenly just me again- only different. because for the first time in years, in centuries, in eons, I didn't stuff my emotions down inside of me. I was standing on the roof naked, screaming my lungs out, and it felt good."
I think that this is a great story because of the view it puts on kids who feel that they should be the gender they physically aren't. It gives kids who aren't like that a better understanding through a relatable and realistic character so that they have some background info on people like them and are less likely to be bullies. It also helps shed a light on the torment kids like Jeanie face in school, and things teachers need to look out better for.

I chose this picture because it's the flag for transgender pride, and I have a feeling that she'd be trans if her mother'd let her.

Emily's "The Lady or The Tiger" ending: Two lovers, the same fate

She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, moved her hand to the right. The Youth had a feeling of what his lover had in store for him. After all, in order to love one, you must know one as well. As he unlatched the door, they both smiled, as if reading each other's minds.  He had anticipated her move,  he knew her reason,  he knew what she would do afterwards. He didn't feel any but happiness when the tiger's outstretched claws reached for him and tore him into an unrecognizable gory red stain on the ground. He knew that beyond this grimily fate he'd see his lover again.  The semi- barbaric King and his daughter watched as the handsome youth's flesh was ribboned by the monster. The Princess closed her eyes. The King smiled. The hired mourners weeped tears of falsehood, the Princess weeped none at all. She smiled as she took the knife from the small box under her bed. She smiled as her wrists were cut. The smile faded slightly, only as she swiftly died. The next hour a maid entered her chambers, wondering why no one had answered her knocking. She widened her eyes when she saw the bloodstained bed. Opened her mouth in shock when the bedsheets transitioned to a dress. She ran out screaming when she saw the body of the Princess. Many mourned that day. The King, more than any. He demanded the Arena to be burned and the people who were married be hanged. He had learned his lesson the hard way. When one meddles between true love and tries to change it's corse, only the unfortunate will happen, and you'll be worse off than if you hadn't meddled with it at all.

On The Fringe: Geeks Bearing Gifts 10-2-13

 story one: Geeks Bearing gifts *spoilers*

•  Describe your least favorite character and explain why. Describe your most

favorite character and explain why.

Pages 1-28

       So The book I am reading is a collection of stories, connected by only the common theme of being left out, or being an outsider. On the inside cover it says "These are some of the fascinating  teens found within this electrifying collection of stories about the outsider experience. Written especially for this anthology by today's most acclaimed young adult authors, the tales provide a powerful, provocative view of high-schools sharp border lines."

       The first story is about a girl named  Renee who is doing a school newspaper article on the oddballs in her school for the last scholarship entry for a journalism school she wants to go to.  She interviews some of the school moms, a few of the "Resource Room" kids (as I understand it it's like special ed or something) and some of the kids with different sexualities.  One of the Resource room kids, William, she gets along with quite well, which irks her boyfriend Bobby, who is overly protective and has a rather short leash on her. he always wants to know where she is. This is why he's my least favorite.
"Molly frowned. "Bobby's beepin' you from across the room?"
"Don't look at him."
"I'm already lookin' at him, he's got his cellphone up to his ear."
"He's got you on a short leash, girlfriend. Is he worth it?""

       My favorite character however, is William because he's pretty relatable. People think he's a drug addict because he has to take a lot of medication, but he needs it.
"I'm like a guitar that has to constantly be tuning it's self. Other wise, my strings snap!"
I think he's relatable to me or my brother because one of the prescriptions he has is Ritalin, which is a medication for ADHD, which I have (Adam has ADD) , though we both use a different medication. Also, he got Renee to realize how absurdly restricting Bobby is when he keep nagging to find out if William is trying to make a move on her, and wanter her to stop doing the article because it takes up a lot of her time and he can't see her as much.
"You know those people you keep calling freaks and losers? Well, I like some of them."
"What are you talkin' about?"
She laid the beeper right in front of him. "Don't call me for a while, ok?"
"If you go out with that retard William, I swear to god I'll kill him."
"I'm not going out with anybody ok? I'm going to read this book about outsiders. I'm going to sit in  my room to think."
A pretty good ending of that story to me.