Castle In The Air 1-30-14 0-383 FINISHED *Spoilers*

Summary  
      Castle in The Air is "a companion to Howl's Moving Castle" which is only really apparent in the end when the characters Howl, Sophie, Wizard Solomon, the four year old Princes Victoria, and Sophie's sister Lettie come into play in what leads to the main climax. (Well Howl showed up pretty early but we didn't know it was him so it doesn't count, which I'll get to later.)

     Castle in The Air is a story about Abdullah who is a carpet Merchant in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, far south of the Kingdom of Ingary, where Howl's Moving Castle takes place. One day Abdullah is approached by a man who sells him a magical flying carpet, which takes him to the night gardens of a princess named Flower-in-the-Night when he sleeps on it that coming nightfall. The two of them hit it off pretty well. However, Flower-in-the-Night at first mistakes him for a woman because other than her own father, she has not seen any men due to a prophecy from when she was born saying that (aside from him) she would marry the first man she meets. Abdullah promises to come again the next night with 189 pictures (drawn, they don't have cameras) of men of all likenesses. Due to this and a prophecy made on his birth his family in law from his father's first wife (Men can have as many wives as they want in his culture, women can only have one husband. I agree with Flower-in-the-Night. "The frown came back to Flower-in-the-Night's face. "How many husbands are women allowed?" she asked. "Only one!" Abdullah said, rather shocked. "That is extremely unfair." Flower-in-the-Night observed musingly.")  it has been said that Abdullah will not carry out the family business after his father has died. Since he is dead and he is suddenly buying paintings, the pushy in-laws decide to try to make him marry two of his second cousins' nieces or something. I don't quite remember the relation. He refuses the two girls (who come into play later) and makes a hasty retreat.

    The next night he falls asleep on the carpet again with all of the paintings of men and ends up traveling to Flower-in-the-Night's garden once more as promised. When she looks at all of the pictures she agrees that Abdullah is indeed male and prefers him to all 189 of the other men. After this they try to figure out how to work the magic carpet which needs a command word (more like snore....) when he tells it to go back to his booth to see if it works. It does, and he accidentally leaves her behind. The night after that they try to escape the garden, only to have Flower-in-the-Night captured by an evil (but not really) Djinn. It is then that he is seen by the guards of the palace (Flower-in-the-Night's dad is a Sultan of sorts) but he gets away. The next morning however being that the palace is only about five miles away he is captured and is to be sent to death after marrying Flower-in-the-Night once they find her as to get past the prophecy. Flower-in-the-Night's dad of course won't believe that a Djinn stole away his daughter and they search around the city for her instead. While he is in his cell in a high tower the dog of the stall keeper next to him fly's asleep on the carpet to him, apparently dreaming of when he gave him a bunch of food he didn't want to eat but took to be polite. Then he is able to escape, drop off the dog to where it needs to be, and fly's off into the desert where he comes across bandits and a genie.

     He is captured by the bandits, he get away while they sleep with the genie bottle, and the carpet was slept on so it's out of the picture for now. The genie can only grant one wish a day so he wished for his chains to be removed. Then when the bandits or the Sultan's guards or someone is about to catch up to him he uses the wish for the next  day to get sent to someone who will help him on his journey who is an old retired warrior who is traveling Ingary for fun. On their travels they come across Midnight and Whippersnapper, a black cat and her kitten. Midnight can turn into a jaguar for reasons explained soon which helps them escape guards again because at this point they are pretty much just fugitives. Once they get to Wizard Suliman's house (since the Moving Castle has been stollen by the Djinn and everyone in it has disappeared) Letty who is now Suliman's wife recognizes Midnight as Sophie and they turn her back, simultaneously turning back Whippersnapper into her and Howl's son Morgan back at the inn the with the soldier. She then explains that Howl had done a scrying spell to see why princesses were disappearing, and if Violate was in any danger when he saw that the Djinn was going to try and capture the house. Soon during a quarrel between him and Sophie about what to do the Djinn comes and Howl turns his pregnant wife into a cat and transport her somewhere near Kingsbury so she can be safe. They then hurry to the inn to find the bottle of genie, Morgan, and the soldier gone, but the carpet left behind. (Oh yeah they had gotten that back.) So Abdullah and Sophie order the carpet to go to where morgan and the Soldier are and it takes them into a castle in the sky, which is really just the moving castle blown up to absurd proportions, which disgusts Sophie.  They sneak in and find about thirty princesses and a tantrum throwing Violet who had been captured when they were in the inn. The two Djinns, the bad one, and the good one who is the bad one's brother are there as well, but they don't notice. The good Djinn had his life taken away by his brother, so he pretty much has to do everything he's told to or die. the brother can't do this himself because he was made by a good Djinn, and a bad Djinn, so he's week and no female wants to marry him. This is why he's kidnapping Princesses to be his wives. Even the four year old. Eventually they get the Good one's life back, they all get sent back down to Kingsbury, Flower-in-the-Night sets the genie free and it's apparently Howl, Calcifer is called out and he turns out to be the flying carpet, and so on. Then Flower-in-the-Night and Abdullah get married and everything is back in order. Except for the princesses. They have to be taken back to their kingdoms. but that's okay, because new trade routes! Now for the Djinns. The bad one was offered the two sisters that Abdullah almost had to marry and accepted, making his exile on an island in who knows where better off. The brother however, sent himself into exile as well because he enjoyed doing the horrible things and did not see himself worthy of going back with the others of his kind.

     That is Castle In The Air by Diana Wynne Jones, the follow up to Howl's Moving Castle, and before A House of Many Ways.

Divergent week 1-22-14 Finished *Spoilers*

• What are the two most important ideas from what you’ve been reading?

Probably that if you split people into categories based on how they think in order to keep peace, it won't work. Pretty much just don't even try. Utopias will never exist, there will always be conflict of some sort. I mean seriously, if there are such things as faction less, then it's not really much of a utopia now is it? Their pretty much homeless. If it was really a utopia that wouldn't happen.
"I see a faction less man standing on the corner up ahead.e wears ragged brown clothing and skin hangs from his jaw. He stares at me, and I stare back, unable to look away."

The second important idea that I got from Divergent was that peace never lasts, no matter how much you try to secure it. There will always be people trying to get their way, there will always be someone who messes up the system. Like Tris, she's Divergent. That messes up the system because she doesn't think the same way everyone else does, so she doesn't have complete loyalty.
"Beatrice," she says, "under no circumstances should you share this information with anyone. This is very important."

So pretty much peace never lasts, and splitting people up based on how they think doesn't work as a structure to base a civilization. However, if it did, there wouldn't be much of a story, now would there?

Divergent- week 1-14-14 - Pages 1-311 Possible Spoilers

What emotions do you feel about your reading? Describe what is going on in

the reading that makes you feel that way.

This will not be in any order, I'm just going by what I remember strongest.

"Edward lies on the floor next to his bed, clutching at his face. Surrounding his head is a halo of blood, and jutting between his fingers is a silver knife handle." 
    To be completely honest I was really not expecting that. I mean, I knew Peter was a jerk (to put it in a school appropriate way) but really man? Your seriously that desperate!?  At this point I'm not sure who I'm supposed to hate more, him or Erik!  I mean seriously, if you want to make a character the readers aren't supposed to like, by all means make them, but you don't need more than one Octavian here....

"My father's eyes burn into mine with a look of accusation."
    Oh yeah, accuse her of not staying with you even though it's obvious Abnegation doesn't come to her naturally. So what if your kids don't stay! Be happy they found where they should go, and actually had the guts to go there. She's gonna be happier where she's going and you should know that. Don't glare at her like it's her fault she doesn't fit into your faction, be grateful she's going where she wants to and not staying with you because she thinks she has to; where she'd always feel awkward and out of place. Also, your not supposed to be selfish, and wanting your kids to have stayed with you in your faction is extremely selfish indeed mister.

'"You look good Tris."'
*Main love interest has been detected*
Now as long as they don't fall off a cliff like my other book OTP, everything will be fine....

"'I don't think tea is the solution.'"
Tris you have obviously not had enough tea. Tea solves everything. So does chocolate. Tea and chocolate can solve pretty much any emotional problem eventually. 

"Somthing terrible has happened. I feel it with every thump of my heart. It's Al."
Well you did pretty much say that you'd never forgive him (not as if he deserves forgiving, because I agree with you Tris, he doesn't, but still....), he doesn't want to fight any more kids to get to the top of the ranking, and somethings been up with him since the second task started. He honestly didn't have much of a fighting chance to get in. Also, he liked you, so you were probably the reason he stayed. Other than his relationship with you, which he just sort of screwed over by helping Peter, he probably didn't see much of a point. And once you said that it dominated over everything else. He probably decided that it would be less painful than to see you everyday and have you act like he's not there. 

An Unexpected Adventure of Which Results Were Quite Splendid- By Sophie. ((As seen in Howl's Moving Castle))

“This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit 

     Oh dear me has it been a while! I have such good news! We killed the Witch of the Waste, found Prince Justin and Wizard Suliman, and got Calcifer out of his contract! When the witch died, the curse she had on Howl and the spell she had on me disappeared, so we don’t have anything to worry about anymore. Calcifer is still around, though he is no longer stuck confined by the fireplace and just floats around of his own free will. My sisters Martha and Lettie successfully switched places, having wanted the others job. Martha, going from a witch’s apprentice to working in the bakery, and Lettie going from working at the bakery to being a witch’s apprentice! Fanny’s got a new suitor and house, I run a flower shop in Market Chipping thats part of Howl’s castle, and everything is positively splendid. I’m going to stay here with Howl and Michael from now on. Howl and I make quite the pair, and I’ve proved myself rather good with magic. I have a feeling that things will be going rather well for me from now on, and though Howl will make things hectic, everything will work out in the end. I have finally found my place.

     Well hasn’t it been a while since I wrote in this. A lot has happened lately. The Wizard Howl is quite a sorry excuse for a wizard if I’ve ever met one. Apparently he doesn’t eat the hearts of young girls. He had just asked Michael to blacken his name in Market Chipping and thats what he had come up with. He even wants me to blacken his name to The King so he won’t have to try and find his brother Justin! They had a quarrel and Prince Justin stormed off, then disappeared. The Wizard Suliman went to the Waste to search for him because he thought the Witch may have caught him, but he never came back. Since Howl’s been cursed by The Witch, he wants nothing to do with this, or it’ll catch up with him. I would feel sorry for him, but it’s his own fault he’s in such a bind! He’s having me pretend I’m his Mother, not that I don’t seem old enough, but he should know better than to have other people solve his problems, and do it him self. Or, better yet, not get into trouble like this in the first place!

     Luckily for me that evil wizard Howl had set his castle relatively close to Market Chipping. I figured since he only eats the hearts of young girls, which I am no longer, and it was getting dark rather quickly, that I could make an attempt to let myself in. I told it to stop, upon which it was rather obedient, but was rather stubborn about letting me in. All three main doors had barriers keeping me from them, and I had to chase the small back door down because it kept trying to move away from me. Eventually I got in. I met Howl’s apprentice named Michael, who couldn’t be much older than my sister Martha. He let me stay without any objection, kind boy. I also met Calcifer, the fireplace. Apparently he makes the castle move and scares people off if he needs too. He told me that if I stayed he could try and figure out how to break the spell if I in turn tried to break the contract he had with The Wizard Howl. In order to do that, I am making it my duty to clean up this mess of a place. Honestly, you would think that a Wizard would know to keep a tidier home. It’s utterly shameful.

     So this has been a rather eventful day, not really something to be expected. Well, not for someone who is the eldest of their siblings anyway. They’re always supposed to be the least successful, though I do suppose this does count as not successful. Cursed to be a dastardly looking old woman on May Day by the Witch of the Waste, and for what? I have no idea!  She simply walked into the hat shop and asked to see them. Surely she must have known that none of them wouldn’t be fitting for a woman of her class, I make hats for the common women of Market Chipping! However, I showed her all of the hats. I took my Step Mother Fanny’s advice, showing her the worst ones first, then the nicer ones; though I knew they would not suite her. Indeed she did not like any of them. Then she told me I was wasting her time, though she’s the one who came in in the first place! Not only that though, she said something about not liking my “Competition or attitude” and that I tried to set myself up against her. Do I have any idea what she was talking about? No. I haven’t the slightest clue. I do know however, that I am now an old woman and no one will know me. She even made it so I can’t tell anyone I’m under a spell! Have decided that I cannot stay here. Fanny will have to do her own work with this place for now until I can find someway to break this dastardly spell.

House of Hades week one 0-261

 What was going through your mind as you read?

(This was a bit of a debate because I swear a lot in my mental dialogue but whatever, most people probably do.)

These are in no order what-so-ever

First sentence of the entire book: "During the third attack, Hazel almost ate a boulder." - Well that escalated from nothing to not good in under three seconds.

"One panicked and ran face first into a tree"- monsters have the grace of 50 pound boulders....

"Frank glared at him. "Now you remember?"

Nico hung his head almost as low as a katobleps. ", uh... used to play this stupid card game when I was younger. Mythomagic. The katobleps was one of the monster cards."

Frank blinked. "I played Mythomagic. I never saw that card."

"It was on the Africanus Extreme expansion deck."

"Oh."" Incoherent fangirling that can roughly be translated to: You two are such dorks, Nico why do you have to be so adorable, why have I not found fan art of this scene yet, and, if there isn't a scene where these two play each other I am going to be highly disappointed.

*Pretty much every part with Octavian ever*- I cannot wait for you to die.

"Suddenly where Nico di Angelo had been standing was a potted plant about five feet tall, with drooping green leaves, tufts of silk, and half a dozen ripe yellow ears of corn."- *Face palm* *Sarcastic clapping* Way to go, you pissed off another god.

"No need." Reyna said, studying Rachel Dare. Do you bring weapons?"

Rachel shrugged. "I hit Kronos in the eye with this hair-brush once. Otherwise, no."- Behold, my favorite mortal character in the entire series. If she and Octavian should have an argument she will beat his but through the floor. Wait... what if Octavian is one of Gaea's pawns and he's purposfully trying to make the Romans and Greeks battle so it's easier for her to take over the world....

"And Hecate? I'm not choosing one of your paths. I'm making my own." You go girl.

I purposefully avoided some parts, Annabeth's and Percy's in particular, in case other people in this class want to read it and didn't want any major spoilers.

Howl's Moving Castle- 12-12-13 finished

What is the title of what you are reading? How does it fit the story? If you

don’t know yet how it fits the story, what is your best guess?

The Title of the book I read is Howl's Moving Castle. Howl is a magician who lives in a castle that moves.  The castle moves because he has a fire demon named Calcifer that controls it, and Howl is running from a curse that The Witch of the Wast put on him that has yet to catch up. The castle is very strange. The door has certain knobs with paint on them that when opened each go to a different building in a different town, which is how Michael and Howl help enough people to make a living. The inhabitants of the Castle are Howl, a drama queen who makes green slime when he gets upset, (Much to Sophie's dismay) Sophie, a girl who was cursed by the Witch of the Waste (She does like to curse people doesn't she?) to be an old woman of at least 90 who then walked away (she couldn't run) because how would her family recognize her like this(?), came across the castle, entered because she needed shelter; and Michael, Howl's apprentice.
Oh, and if you were wondering about the green slime it's horrid and was quite a bother for Sophie to clean up, "There were horrendous, dramatic, violent quantities of green slime- oodles of it. It covered Howl completely. It draped his head and shoulders in sticky dollops, heaping on his knees and hands, trickling in lops down his legs, and dripping of the stool in sticky strands." Luckily for pretty much everyone this only happens once in the story. I can't wait to see the movie, that scene is going to be quite a sight to see.

Giver- 12-4-13

• Quote a passage & respond to it. How did it make you feel?

"His father turned and opened the cupboard.  He took out a syringe and a small bottle. Very carefully he inserted the needle  into the bottle and began to fill the syringe with a clear liquid.

    Jonas winced sympathetically. He had forgotten that newchildren had to get shots. He hated shots himself, though he knew they were necessary. 

    To his surprise, his father began very carefully to direct the needle into the top of the newchild's forehead, puncturing the place where the fragile skin pulsed. The newborn squirmed and wailed faintly.

"Why's he-" 

"Shhh," The Giver said sharply.

    His father was talking, and Jonas realized that he was hearing the answer to the question he had started to ask. Still in the special voice, his father was saying, "I know, I know. It hurts little guy. But I have to use a vein, and the veins in your arms are still too teeny-weeny."

    He pushed the plunger very slowly, injecting the liquid into the scalp vein until the syringe was empty. "All done. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Jonas heard his father say cheerfully. He turned aside and dropped the syringe into the waste receptacle.

   Now  he cleans him up and makes him comfy, Jonas said to himself, aware that The Giver didn't want to talk during the ceremony.

   As he continued to watch, the newchild, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion. Then he went limp. He head fell to the side, eyes half open. Then he was still.

  With an odd shocked feeling, Jonas recognized the gestures and posture and expression. They were familiar.

   Jonas stared at the screen, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. The little twin lay motionless. His father was putting things away. Folding the blanket. Closing the cupboard.

    Once again, as he had on the playing field, he felt the choking sensation. Once again he saw the face of the light-haired, bloodied soldier as the life left his eyes. The memory came back."

    I've got to admit, I was crying after this part. If it wasn't 10:30 at night when I should have been in bed over half an hour ago, I would have thrown it at a pillow and stormed around the house. But it was over my bedtime, so I just read on quietly crying into SnugglePup (My stuffed animal) kept reading, and hoped my Mom couldn't hear me over the sound of the television. Luckily, she never did, otherwise I wouldn't have finished it so soon. This scene does leave you wondering what they do with the bodies though. I would assume they burn them far away somewhere, after all, Jonas never comes across a body, so they don't just dump them outside the borders. I wonder who's job it is to do that. Perhaps the Nurturers and the caretakers of the Old deal with it as part of their assignment. Perhaps I'd find out if I read the other books. I'm not sure if I'd be able to deal with any more sad parts though.... I don't like sad books. If I know it will be sad, like The Fault in Our Stars, I refuse to read it. I'm good at being stubborn like that. Unless it's for school, then I don't really have much of a choice. Arguing with teachers just isn't a good idea.

other late post- Neverwhere 193-231

So there is this monster that Richard, the main character keeps seeing someone kill in first person in his dreams in the sewer. Apparently, as they (Richard and Door) have been told by Hunter, it is the Monster of the London Underground. From it's description to me it sounds like a giant boar.
"They say it's hide bristles with the swords and spears and knives stuck in him by those who have tried and failed. His tusks are razors, and his hooves are thunderbolts. I will kill him, or I will die in the attempt."
Apparently there are monsters in all of the undergrounds. She Slain the giant Alligator 
king in the sewers of New York,  the bear that "stalked the city beneath Berlin."(Germany), and the black tiger underneath Calcutta.(in India, also spelled Kolkata) It's nice to finally know what he had been dreaming about. I'm not sure if he had pieced together the fact that she was talking about the same thing, but he'll realize it eventually. I really hope Hunter doesn't die, I like her. People need to stop dyeing in the books I read. This is why I don't plan on reading John Green's books anytime soon. I don't want to be sitting in class reading and get to a sad/emotional in general part and start crying. That would probably make Abdiel rather uncomfortable.

I am rather worried as to what the Mr. C and V's employer is planning on doing with Door. Also, who he is is also troublesome. I thought he had been De Carabas (Someone helping Door find out who killed her family and why)  because that would make since, keep your friend close and the girl who's family I am suspecting you ordered two strange guys to murder even closer, right? That was a bust though, so now I feel bad. Like when you expect something bad of someone and your wrong, fictional character version. 

Kolkata

Berlin

New York

Kolk

The Giver- Spoilers- finished

I'm not going to use a prompt because I don't think I need one for this.

So I found out what the deal is with being released, and I am not happy at all with it. I can't say i'm that surprised though, but it does leave you wondering what they do with the bodies? They obviously don't bury them, there would be a cemetery or something, but there is no reason to think they burn or don't burn them either. They clearly don't just dump them in the woods to rot away because Jonas never came across any skeletons when he was riding away. Perhaps it's just a plot hole that Lois Lowry covers up in another one of the books.

I also still wonder why they didn't want people to see colors though, I may have missed it if it was explained but still, I don't really understand why it would be of that much importance. Sure, people could see different things out of different colors, but unless they don't want people to think at all differently (though I wouldn't put it past them) I think it's just silly. Unless it's because some colors can evoke emotions, and they obviously don't want people to feeling those. Tough you'd think the pills would deal with that mostly though, so they wouldn't need to make people colorblind. The pills obviously stop sexual attraction mostly, to keep the population under control, but I think they might also stop them from loving each other. Perhaps this is why Jonas stopped taking them, because he felt that they where just wrong.

The other thing I didn't like was that the ending isn't definite. It isn't as "WHAT?! HOW DARE IT END THERE! WHAT HAPPENED??!" the way "The Lady and The Tiger" or The Mark of Athena, it just sort of a "....wait what? What happened....? Are you kidding me?!" sort of reaction. I have a bad feeling they end up dead from cold and starvation but perhaps there really was a house with lights at the bottom of the hill. Perhaps some people do live outside of the communities, other people who have escaped and made families and little villages. That would be nice.

Late blog 10/28- Neverwhere- 150-193

• List three questions you have about what you read.

Will Jessica, (the main character's former fiancee, since she doesn't remember him anymore because he fell through the cracks of London when he rescued Door, causing no one in upper London to know who he is or really notice him,) be used as a bargaining chip? That would make things complicated, because if so, what would Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar (the antagonists) want if they were to do so? Also, would Richard comply with them, or wouldn't he? As of now I think he would but that could easily change later as more stuff goes on.

Is Anesthesia dead? I've done a blog about what happened to her before, but she was taken on the night bridge and it was never clarified whether she was or was not, which annoys me because she could show up later or not and it just bothers me.

Why can't Door's bodyguard Hunter go into upper(normal) London? Is she scared? Is there something or someone that has it out for her up there that she can't risk meeting? Perhaps she has a deal with someone there to stay in lower London or something. 

I have a feeling that this will all be resolved sooner or later, after all, what is the point of having vague things about a character if your never going to reveal what is actually going on?

This is a door, because I can't find any good character art of Door the actual character. There are lots of doors she has to open in the story though so I feel it is relevant. 

Neverwhere 135-150

• Is what you are reading believable? Why or why not?

Well.... To most people I don't really think it would be, but to me it could easily be reality. Probably just because I'm still trying to cling to ideas making the world not be as boring as it seems and something interesting is happening that most people just don't know about. Or, that every story made creates another universe where it happens in, and books are just the links to them. This could be the center of a bunch of branching cluster universes. For example, if this was where the Rick Riordan series' happened (since it's cannon that their just in different parts of New York,) there wouldn't be the books about them there, there would be something like The Mysterious Benedict Society, but in the world of TMBS, the RRS's would be the books, not  TMBS. 

So pretty much the only reason it's believable to me is because I'm desperate and overly imaginative.

Neverwhere 11-8-13

• If you were the author, what would you change? Why?

I wouldn't have had Anaesthesia die on the night bridge, mostly just because I feel bad for her. Though it does set the tone a bit and let the reader know that where they are is a dangerous place, it's rather upsetting that she just disappears like that, and there really isn't a very good explanation of what happened to her at all.
'"Is there anything, really, to be scared of?"
"Only the night on the bridge."
"The kind in armor?"
"The kind that comes when day is over."
Anaesthesia's hand sought Richard's. He held it tightly, her tiny hand in his."
"The woman looked at him, almost pityingly; ad Richard realized that thee was nobody holding his hand.
"Anaesthesia?"
From the darkness at the crown of the bridge came a gentle noise, like a rustle, or a sigh. A handful of irregular quartz beads pattered down the curve of the bridge towards them. Richard picked one up. It was from the rat-girl's necklace. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Then he found his voice.
"We'd better. We have to go back. She's...."
The woman raised her flashlight, shone it across the bridge. Richard could see all the way across the bridge. It was deserted. 
"Where is she?" he asked.
"Gone." the woman said flatly. "The darkness took her."
I was rather upset when this bit rolled around. I liked Anaesthesia, she was cool, and she even had a little backstory and everything was nice! Perhaps she'll come back later or something. The darkness defiantly couldn't have taken Hunter who is the woman, because she is of more importance later, and is not as indispensable as I admit Anaesthesia was. Perhaps Hunter could have been traveling with someone, and they took her, then Richard and Anaesthesia part their ways, her having taken him where he needed to go, and then showed up again later or something. 

I am over all enjoying this book so far, it strange, the plot is interesting, and the characters are rather strange. Basically the kind of book I enjoy reading. 

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.
 

My Favorite Book series' of All Time.

All great readers have a problem figuring out what their favorite book is. I, being one of them, have chosen to do my two favorite book series. Both by the same author, Rick Riordan.  They are the Kane    Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus (this includes the Percy Jackson series).

I figure that the reason they are my favorite books mostly is because I'm so into mythology and fantasy. In fourth grade I was bored with how I couldn't find any age appropriate books that I liked as much as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Then we had our school Book Fair when my Mom got me The Lightening Thief. It had lots of humor, an interesting plot, and likable characters. Also, it ended up having nine books, The Lightening Thief, Sea of Monsters, Titan's Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, Mark of Athena, and the one thats coming out, The House of Hades.

The other series, The Kane Chronicles, has only three books, but hints at being continued.
I got into the Kane Chronicles when my Mom and Dad got it for me for my birthday because it was the same author. It's different enough and really humorous as well. It's in first person perspective of the two main characters, who are siblings, that alternates every two chapters. That layout was interesting to me, as I had never seen any book that did that before. Theres lots of action, cool characters, and a romantic subplot that doesn't take away from the main plot in the books, or distract you, which is nice.