Along For The Ride- Quarter 3

Along For The Ride- Part 1

　

　
        In the book Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen, Auden is a girl whose parents are divorced. She is constantly pressured by her mom to well in school, trying to do so well in school she completely missed out on her childhood. She never even learned how to ride a bike. I know when I was little that was a very big thing to learn, if you didn't know how to ride a bike you were kind of an outcast. She spontaneously decides to go spend her summer with her father, his new wife, and their new baby instead of reading ahead for her fall classes. During her time with her father and his new father. She soon takes a job at girly boutique called Clementine where she meets Maggie, Leah, and Esther, who take her to parties and teach her about the girly part of a teenage girls life. At night, she meets Eli, who helps Auden fulfil her "quest" in being a normal teenage girl.
          Auden changed in three ways throughout this book, she establishes new relationships, develops an open mind on trying new things, and she discovers that academics isn't everything. Auden became more open minded and more willing to try new things without giving up. As Auden and Eli worked on her "quest", she became better and better at not thinking about what she's doing too much, but just going for it. During their nights together, Auden went bowling, had a food fight, delivered newspapers, and more activities she missed out on as a child. During the part where Auden struggles, she gets up the courage to learn how to ride a bike. She suffers from scraps and bruises but she was determined to learn, and never gave up.
Auden also established new relationships. When she met Eli, she grew a strong bond with him. She also made new friends from where she worked- Maggie, Leah, and Esther, who taught her about girl friendships- the gossip, the secrets, and how to be a girl.
           Finally, Auden discovered that academics isn't the most important thing in the world. She goes from locking her self in her room studying, to going to parties. The story talked about her mom calling and telling Auden that she would sign her up for a private room to study in all day, and Auden replied, "No, I don’t want to spend every single second studying." Auden realized that she actually wanted a roommate and to go to parties and to live in a dorm.
            In Along For The Ride, Auden changes in three ways, she established new relationships, develops an open mind about trying new things, and discovers that academics isn't everything. I can relate to Auden in learning how to establish better relationships. I am discovering everyday how important friends are and how to make friendships even stronger than they already are. This book reminded me how important it is to have good relationships.

Along For The Ride- Quarter 3

Along For The Ride- Part 2　
Growing up in a divorced family, Auden never learned how to ride a bike. She became super focused on academics in order to make her parents happy and was never really allowed to have a childhood. Because she studies all the time, she has no social life and even plans to spend her summer in-between high school and college reading ahead for her fall classes. But after getting a present from her highly social and carefree brother, Auden makes a sudden change of plans. Instead of spending her summer on academics, she decides to spend it at the beach with her dad, his new wife, and their new baby. Instead of intending to spend the summer entirely free of work, Auden ends up helping her stepmother out by working in her popular, boardwalk boutique. There she begins to get a chance to see the world of a normal teen friendships, fashion, and even boys. Auden's chronic insomnia results in her befriending one boy in particular, Eli, a local bike celebrity. A year earlier local teen Eli's best friend, Abe, was killed in an auto accident in which Eli was driving, Eli still feels responsible even though it was not his fault. He has stopped doing things he loves, like championship biking. Late at night, the two go on mini-quests to recapture Auden's childhood and in the process they gain much more.
The biggest conflicts in the story are both internal. The biggest internal conflict was between Auden and Eli, they both had feelings for each other but because of their pasts they are a little bit more shy than the average teenage. Another big internal conflict was Auden being so focused on academics in order to make her parents happy, she had no social life and if she wouldn't have decided to go stay with her father, his new wife (her step mom), and their new baby, she would have been studying all day the whole summer reading ahead for her fall classes. Also another big internal conflicts was Eli realizing that it was not necessarily his responsibility that his best friend, Abe, was killed in the automobile accident. All these problems were solved between the two teenagers, together they helped each other get through their issues.

"When It Happens" summary (:

For my quarter 2 choice book I choose When It Happens by Susane Colasanti. This book is about a girl who is a senior named Sara Tyler. Sara has never had a boyfriend, has never kissed anyone but her parents, and has recently lost weight during the summer before her senior year. She is focused on getting into her first-choice college. Sara’s other goal is to find true love, so when popular Dave asks her out, she’s thrilled. But there is some one who might change what is going on between Dave and Sara. His name is Tobey. He wants to win Battle of the Bands, but lucky for Sara, one of Tobey’s other goals are also to make her fall in love him.

All of Tobey was thinking about was Sara all summer, wanting to call her but never got up the courage. On the first day of school he has finally decided after his friends were nagging him all summer to talk to her. But before he gets to make a move on Sara during lunch, Dave beats him to the chase. Dave is the new, popular hot guy that almost every girl in the school is drooling over. Put down Tobey is about to give up, but when his best friend Mike tells him not to give up on Sara he listens and starts to talk to her. Pretty soon Sara realizes that she may possibly be having feelings for Tobey, and decides that whatever she had with Dave was over. In the beginning, all of Sara’s friends are questioning what Sara was thinking, letting go of the new, popular hot guy but sooner or later they will regret the questioning.

Sara and Tobey start to feel the butterflies you get in your stomach, the anticipation, and the uncertainty, the supposed feelings of falling in love. From then on you will be rooting for the two, who are supposedly in love with each other, 110 percent. I know I did! You will not be able to close the book and put it down!

This book was really good and enjoyable to read! I think that most teenage girls will love this book. I would rate it 1-10, about a 9.5. Loved the book and could never close it and put it down! It is definitely a KEEPER!!!

"When It Happens" recomendation

The book When It Happens by Susane Colasanti is a great book for teenage girls. The key element in this book is the relationship that Sara and Dave have with each other, but then the feelings that Tobey has for Sara. But once you realize the real connection between Sara and Tobey you will be rooting for them 100%. This book really shows what it’s like to fall in love-the butterflies in your stomach, the anticipation, and the uncertainty. This book talks about a lot of problems that regular teenage girls go through like you liking some one who likes someone else who you hate very much and think is a big, huge butt hole! Yeah, problems like that, the biggest teenage girl problem.

I would recommend this book to any teenage girl, even if you don’t want to know what it’s like to fall in love or if you don’t like romance novels. This book shows what each character felt like when they fell in love with each other. The things that they would say to their friends about each other. From the moment that Sara and Tobey start to be together you will never want to put the book down. Also if you are going through a rough time, reading a book could very possibly be the best thing that you could do. I know that when I’m going through rough times especially when what is going on in the book is the same thing that you are going through in your life, reading a book always helps me just relax and sometimes helps me figure out some of the problems. I think that it would be really easy to relate to this book- with all the problems that are going on with relationships, the friendship between Sara, Maggie, and Laila, and the other friendship between Tobey, Josh, and Mike.

I would also recommend this book to people who like really deep books. They get into deep conversations and great details. This book was very specific on what Tobey and Sara were thinking about each other- every other chapter was what each character was thinking about, what they were doing with their friends and family, and what was just going on in their life.

This is the perfect book for someone who likes to see both the main characters’ point of view, really detailed books, and mostly just want to know what it’s like to fall in love. I loved this book and I think that most teenage girls will after reading it!

Choice Book Report-Scat

The conflict in the book Scat by Carl Hiaasen is that Miss Starch, the school’s biology teacher is missing. Miss Starch goes back into a wild fire in Black Vine Swamp to get a student’s asthma inhaler and tells the other teachers to take the students back and she would just drive her car back to school and meet them there. By the next day, her car was still in the parking lot at the swamp and was not seen or heard of the night before. A couple days of school go by and still no sign of her but her car was no longer in the parking lot meaning her or someone came and picked it up. That night the girl’s father, who had dropped her inhaler, had an awakening in the middle of the night. The dog was barking loud and obnoxiously so he ran down stairs to figure out what was going on. He opens the day but nothing was there, the dog and he go outside to look around. But when they go outside there is still nothing. The dog and he come inside the house but then he soon realizes that his daughter’s inhaler is in his dog’s mouth. The next day there is a letter in Miss Starch’s mailbox that was supposed to be sent to the school. The letter said “I have a family emergency and I’m not sure when I will be back. Then the search is on for Miss Starch and Nick and Marta are going to figure out what is going on in Black Vine Swamp.

Nick and Marta are faced with having to deal with a crazy substitute teacher while Miss Starch is gone who only teachers from page 117. Even though the students have already learned about what was on page 117, he still taught the page. They thought Miss Starch was crazy but they soon start to miss her.  Nick and Marta are in a mad search to find their biology teacher. They are looking at her house, talking to the police, figuring out if anyone has heard of anything, but other than that they are looking for Miss Starch all by them selves.

If I would have been looking for my missing teacher, I would probably have done the exact same thing, especially if I had a crazy substitute teacher who taught the same thing everyday.

Choice Book Report-Scat

Nick Walters is a teenage boy, who is very daring and curious. Nick is daring because he took many risks in the story for example he was brave and went out to figure out what was going on in the Black Vine Swamp. He is curious because he is always trying to figure out what is going on whether it’s dealing with a panther, or psycho teacher with stuffed animals on her porch and all over inside her house, or creepy young guys.
Nick’s father has just come back from Iraq due to his right arm being completely blown off. Nick feels very grateful that his father did not loose his life because the guy next to him did. During the story, Nick decides to go through what his dad is suffering through; trying to do everything with only one arm. To do this Nick wraps up his right arm to completely disable it. He goes through school, the crazy adventure, and life with one arm; learns how to write, throw a baseball, and go through life’s challenges with his father. When I read what Nick was doing I was truly inspired on how he worked through all of this with only one arm.

Marta is a teenage girl, who is Nick’s best friend. She is determined and caring. Marta is determined because she wouldn’t give up when Nick and she were trying to figure out where Miss Starch disappeared to. When everyone kept thinking that nothing was going on, she knew there was and was going to figure out what it was no matter what. Marta is also caring because when Nick was not getting e-mails back from his father she knew something was probably wrong but she would always bring up Nick’s spirits and cheer him up. She was a really good friend for Nick when his father came home wounded. She was understanding with him and his decision to wrap up his arm just like his father.

Miss Starch is very important in this story. She went back into the swamp to get a child’s asthma inhaler during a wild fire. While she went into the swamp she told the other teachers to just get the kids back to school safely and she would meet up with them back at the school. Miss Starch never comes back to school and soon calls in for a “family emergency”. She didn’t leave any details and leaves everyone wondering. She was always a peculiar teacher and when Nick and Marta say her house realized she was even weirder; stuffed animals all around. By the end of the story they realize that she is a caring person and was missing due to caring for something that no one would have expected.

Memior 2

It was Monday, four days before Halloween, and my mom was picking me up at Westwood Elementary. I had gymnastics practice in a half an hour. I was eleven years old and had no idea that I would be spending the next day in the hospital.
I got to practice, and I started warming-up, stretching, and practicing as I usually would. I was wearing a black leotard with bright, colorful flowers all over it and a pair of black, velvet shorts, I never had one thought in my head that the same leotard I was wearing was going to cut right off of me.
I started off practice on floor, but I didn't know that it was going to be my last event for almost 7 months. My team and I were all tumbling on floor. It was my turn to go and it was supposed to be my last tumbling pass of the day. It was a round-off, back handspring, back layout- it was my first one ever since I hurt my knee four months earlier.
I began going- the round off was perfect, the back handspring was high (not good), and the back layout was incomplete. In the middle of my back layout I stopped flipping over and landed lying on the floor, which was definitely not a good thing.
I was laying on my stomach, breathless from shock, I look over at my left arm and I realized that I was not normal, more like it looked like I had 2 elbows. I look at my coach, knowing that I couldn't scream because my sister was standing 20 feet away from me and said, "Tommy, I think I broke my arm."
Everyone immediately ran out of the gym with pale, white faces and tears strolling down their cheeks. My coach yelled, "Erin! Don't move!" I flopped right down and I felt a tear fall down on to the floor. My mom ran into the gym and along with my coach sat right down beside me. I felt someone put an ice pack on my arm and then they started wrapping it. My coach picked me up, set my in the car, and strapped me in.
The car ride to the emergency room felt like we were driving all the way to Duluth and back. I was holding myself up from lying down with all of my ab's strength. We finally got to the hospital and I saw my dad, that was the most worried I've ever seen him in my whole life. Surprisingly seeing him relieved all of my pain.
When I got into a room, they told me I had to have an I.V. and I was outrageously scared off needles, but at that moment I didn't care. After I got the I.V. everything seemed to just be a breeze. They brought me to a room in the children's area and I spent the night there until the doctor was able to perform surgery on my arm.
I got into surgery at about 2 am, I didn't know though because I was sleeping. I only remember waking up from surgery because the nurse was shoving toast down my throat, at that point I hadn't ate or drank anything for almost 12 hours. I fell back asleep that night, and when I woke up the next morning all I wanted to do was go see my friends at school. My mom told me that I could maybe go visit school later, but I could not stay there.
I went to school and no body could believe how tough I was, even my teachers. But I know I did. I will never forget that day and night. A day of happiness, scariness, sadness, painful, and stress. The day I will never forget!