Godless: Appreciation

     I have recently finished Godless, by Pete Hautman, and I have learned a lot and overall I really appreciate this book for all of its messages that it is getting across to me, all the ideas that the book puts in my head, all of the times that the author comes out and tells his honest opinion, how he portrays parents, and how it accurately portrays how teenagers like us feel. Jason Bock, who is fed up with his parents' boring old religion, creates a new religion and a new God. The religion is called Chutengodianism and they worship the town's water tower. He recruits a group of worshippers, which includes his best friend, Shin, Magda Price, Henry Stagg, and more. They have climbed the water tower, but got caught and almost got Henry killed. When Jason Bock gets a talk from his dad about what not to do, and how he should follow the guidelines and be a Catholic, it is whereI get a lot of my appreciation for this book from. It includes messages, it has author's intrusion, it portrays parents the way teenagers see them, and it shows how teenagers feel.
     First of all, when Jason Bock gets a talk from his dad about what not to do, and how he should follow the guidelines and be a Catholic, many things pop up. First of all, it portrays parents how teenagers see them, and how teenagers feel. An example of this is "'But the fact is, Jason, God is real. God is real.' I was once young and foolish too, but now I'm old and foolish, so you should listen to me. I can say anything I want and call it a fact" (144). The italics are Jason's opinion on his father, who is the one talking. I really appreciate this line. It shows that older people aren't always right, and just because they have the experience doesn't mean they know better. Another important thing that I got out of this excerpt is that you don't always need to follow what you're family says to believe or what you were raised to believe. I am a happy, reverent Catholic, but I still appreciate this line. Just because you were told to believe something doesn't mean you need to believe it. If you want to worship a water tower, go do that. Even if you want to worship dog poop, go ahead, worship it, and do whatever you want. I also like this excerpt because it shows that teenagers feel that parents don't always know for the best, and that the child has the right to fight back if s/he believes that the parent isn't being fair. The excerpt "I can say whatever I want and call it a fact," shows that its unfair that parents have more power than children. All of this is Pete Hautman coming out and telling the reader what he really thinks. I like how the author is really trying to get across to the reader and tell his honest opinion. He even puts his intrusions in italics. 
     Second of all, I appreciate how realistic this story is. Teenagers don't enjoy being forced to follow and believe what their parents believe. Teenagers also give out their true and honest opinion and don't follow everyone else. Another thing that is realistic with this book is that teenagers consider themselves free, indiscriminate people, while parents don't agree with that. As its says in the book, "But I don't see where it's going to do anyone any good for me to get eyestrain from reading a bunch of Catholic propaganda, and not get my driver's license, and spending hours shut in my room, and whatever else they've got cocked up. It's persecution is what it is. Religious intolerance. A violation of the separation of church and Jason" (145). These were Jason's thoughts right after his dad sent him to his room to read five books about theology and write reports about them. Even though most parents wouldn't assign reports to their child, it still shows how parents force their kids to do unethical stuff and how parents take away their kids' rights. I also appreciate how realistic the response of their parents was after they got caught climbing the water tower. Their parents thought it was the worst thing in the world and that they are rebelling and are destined to kill themselves.
     In conclusion, I really appreciate Godless, by Pete Hautman. I taught me a lot of messages, ideas, and morals. The author, Pete Hautman is really trying to get the messages across to us. He is intruding multiple times. He is even making his intrusions italic so that we would notice that he is trying to get this message across to us, and that it is really him speaking. I also appreciate this book because of how realistic it is, and how it accurately portrays the life and feelings of a teenager. Even though I am a happy, reverent Catholic, I really appreciate this book, and all of the messages it is trying to get out to the readers.   

Godless: Setting

     I am right about in the middle of Godless, by Pete Hautman, and so far a lot has happened. Jason Bock, who is fed up with his parents' boring old religion, creates a new religion and a new God. The religion is called Chutengodianism and they worship the town's water tower. He recruits a group of worshippers. The group of worshippers include his best friend, Shin, who is a wimp, Magda Price, Henry Stagg, and more. The group of worshippers  climbed up the tall water tower to have a midnight mass, and they almost died. Henry did some crazy things, like cut off the light and the control panel on top of the water tower. This endangers the life of all of the other worshippers. Just being on top of the tall water tower is dangerous. With all this happening, I say that the setting is very important to this story.
     First of all, this story takes place in the small suburban town of St. Andrew Valley. The reason why I know that it is rural or suburban is because the water tower is the tallest structure in the town. The setting in this story is definitely integral to the plot, theme, and characters. The setting is integral to the plot because if this story took place in an urban place, or a place a long time ago, the water tower wouldn't exist, or it wouldn't be the tallest structure in the town. As Jason Bock says, "Think about it: What is the source of all life? Water. Where does water come from? Water towers. What is the tallest structure in most towns? The water tower" (19). If the water tower isn't the tallest structure in their town, they won't worship it. The theme in this story is to believe whatever you want to believe in. Jason is part of a family that is really religious and really connected to the church. Also, in a small suburban town like St. Andrew Valley, they are full of religious Catholics and they all expect their kids to grow up Catholic. The kids don't have much of a choice. That is part of the setting, and the setting allows the fact that a kid is breaking away from his family's strict religion, and his town's strict religion, to be a big deal to everyone else. When Jason visited his dad's cousin, his dad's cousin was so shocked that Jason was not a strict Catholic. This makes Jason even more proud knowing that he is making others shocked, and makes him want to stick up for his religion
     Also, the author does describe the setting in a way that makes it stand out. The author has the eye of Jason when he describes the water tower. He describes it like it has so much power and that it is big and massive. This shows that Jason really thinks that the water tower is God. This relates back to the theme that you should believe in whatever you want. This shows that Jason really believes in the water tower. This story has multiple settings. The multiple settings besides the water tower and the town itself includes the church and Henry Stagg's house. Henry Stagg's house is important because it shows a theme. When Jason went to Henry's house to ask Henry how he got on top of the water tower, Jason sees that Henry isn't what he acts like. Henry acts like a jerk and a slob in public, but his house shows that he is actually really smart, has a lot in common with Jason, and he acts all nice. This shows that you can't just label someone, or "judge a book by its cover." You should get to know someone first and see who they really are. That is why this setting is important. Another setting is the church. The setting of the church shows what Jason truly believes, how he feels about Catholicism. It also shows why he created his own religion.
     In  conclusion, the setting plays a very important role in the story, and there are aspects of the setting that are significant. An aspect of the setting that is significant is that he is in the small suburban town of St. Andrew Valley, and that the fact that the water tower is the tallest structure in the town. If this story took place in an urban place, or a place a long time ago, the water tower wouldn't exist, or it wouldn't be the tallest structure in the town, so Jason and his worshippers won't worship the water tower. I can't wait to read on and see if any new settings are introduced, and how that plays a role in the plot.

When You Reach Me: Theme *Spoiler Alert*

          I am currently near the end of When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, and a lot has changed since my first blog post about it when I was at the beginning of the book. Miranda has started to get letters from this mysterious person. The person asks her to do many things. A lot of this story has been a mystery. One mystery besides the letters is that someone has stole Jimmy's bank full of two dollar bills. Jimmy got so mad that he locked the door to his store and fired all Miranda and her friends from their job at Jimmy's store. Many other things have gone on, like Sal getting beat up. Miranda and all of her friends, including Colin and Annemarie, keep thinking about who has stole the bank full of two dollar bills. One day, when Miranda goes to a store, the cashier showed Miranda all of the two dollar bills that she has received from the laughing man, a crazy man on the street. It then becomes clear to Miranda that it was him that has stole all of the two dollar bills. From there, all of the mysteries start to get solved, even though where I am at in the book not all of them are solved yet. After the robber gets revealed, the mystery writer gets revealed, who is the laughing man. With all these events, the writer has some themes that she wants the reader to think, feel, and know.

     First of all, when the laughing man stole the bank full of two dollar bills and Jimmy blames Miranda, Colin, and Annemarie, the author wants us to know that not everything is fair, but in the end, things usually turn out for the best. The same principle follows in the book. When the laughing man stole the bank full of two dollar bills, at first it is unfair for Miranda, Colin, and Annemarie. It even gets unfair for Julia even though she doesn't even work at Jimmy's store. As it says in the book, "'You think Julia took the money?' Colin laughed. 'Julia needs money like a fish needs a bicycle.' Jimmy shook his head. 'Some things are in the blood. All the money in the world can't change a person's blood.' 'What do you mean blood?' Annemarie had her hands on her hips. 'What blood?' Jimmy pointed his big finger right at me. 'Like you call her, Swiss Miss: hot chocolate'" (129). Jimmy means being African American when he says Swiss Miss: hot chocolate. Julia gets discriminated, and Colin, Miranda, and Annemarie gets fired for a while because of the laughing man's robbery. But in the end, they get their job back, and everything become fair. Another thing that isn't fair is Miranda's relationship with Sal. Miranda was such a good friend to Sal, but after he left her, she was so alone and sad. That wasn't fair and nice, but once Sal's life gets saved by the laughing man, Sal and Miranda become closer since they are in tough times.

     Second of all, the author wants us to feel and know that everything is not what it seems. In this story, no one had any ides that it is the laughing man that has stole Jimmy's bank full of two dollar bills. No one knew that Sal would leave Miranda when they were so close and that nothing seemed to split them apart. No one suspected that it was the laughing man who was writing Miranda these crazy mysterious notes. No one even thought that the laughing man would kill himself to save Sal. The author, Rebecca Stead, wants us to always not assume something and always expect something else so that you would be prepared. The author also wants us to always think about something, and to never leave it until it is solved. This is what happened to Miranda. She thought hard and tried to put all the pieces together to solve this mystery that does get very complicated. As I said in my last blog post, Miranda will use her determination to solve this mystery, and she did.

     In conclusion, the author, Rebecca Stead, wants us to know that everything is not what it seems, and that not everything is fair, but in the end, things usually turn up for the best. The examples in this book shows us what the author wants us to feel, think, and know. These themes can really help you in everyday life. Inn addition to that, Miranda does use the character traits, caring determined, and cautious, to help solve the mystery. Even though I almost finished the book, more important things can come up, and I can't wait to read on.

   

When You Reach Me: Protagonist

     I have just started reading the book When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, and it is a very interesting book. Even though I have just started it many issues have popped up and the readers learn a lot about the protagonist, Miranda, and all the things that she goes through. One important event is when Miranda's best friend, Sal, got punched by a kid on the street, and for some reason he starts to shut her out of his life. Miranda is also part of a poor family who is just making it by. Miranda's mom gets accepted to a game show called The $20,000 Pyramid, and their family really needs the money, so Miranda works really hard with her mother so that they can win the game show. Miranda also goes through many other things, such as being ignored by her best friend, Sal, and experiencing thugs in New York City, that shows the reader who protagonist, (Miranda), is as a character and how she might overcome challenges in the future.
     First of all, Miranda really is dedicated to things and will work hard to accomplish something. An example of this is when Miranda's mom gets accepted into The $20,000 Pyramid and they work hard together to win, because they really need the money. Miranda's family is really poor. Miranda's mother has to steal essential goods from her work to sustain her family.  So when Miranda's mom gets accepted into the game show, Miranda and her mother work really hard with flash cards for weeks to make sure that Miranda's mom wins money. They are both very hardworking and they are determined to reach their goals. This also shows that Miranda is caring. Another example that shows that she is caring is when she wouldn't just let Sal walk away from her and ignore her. A piece of evidence from the book is, "I asked him four hundred time whether he was okay, or if he was mad at me, or what was wrong, and three hundred and ninety-nine times he answered 'Yes,' 'No,' and 'Nothing'" (33). Miranda know that there is something wrong, but she won't just accept the fact. She wants to know exactly what is happening and why. Since I have read the blurb of this book, I know that Miranda will encounter a mystery. These characteristics that she has from these activities can help her overcome this challenge that she is about to encounter.
     Also, whenever Miranda faces a thug or a homeless person on the street, she know how to deal with it. Miranda is very cautious with them. When Miranda was still best friends with Sal, they knew how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it is safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know who and what to avoid. Like for example, whenever she sees someone on the street who she is scared of, she asks for the time. She even has logic behind it. She would turn to the person and say "Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?" The reason why she does this is because the person would think that she is just a friend and that there is no need to hurt her or to take her stuff. It also says that she doesn't have a watch and that she isn't worth mugging. Miranda uses logic behind everything she does, and she thinks before she does anything that can harm her. What I don't get is why doesn't she use all this logic and thinking when she does something with Sal or to fix up the problems between them? Maybe she does later on in the book when she ties to solve the mystery that happens after Sal got punched.
     In conclusion, I think that all these events show the reader who Miranda  really is, and I believe that she should use all the good character traits that we learn that Miranda has, to solve the mystery later on in the book. From the important events that happened so far in the book, Miranda is a caring, determined, cautious, hardworking, logical, and intelligent girl. I can't wait to read on and see how Miranda uses these traits to her benefit.

Bad Boy: Protagonist's Archetypal Journey

     I am currently reading Bad Boy, a memoir by Walter Dean Myers, and it is a very interesting book. This book is about the life of Walter Dean Myers as a kid. It includes all the troubles he faced, what his interests were, and how he felt about the world. He is on a loss of innocence journey, so he is growing up. Even as a young kid in elementary school, Walter Dean Myers loves to read, loves to write, and really knows about the world. Walter Dean Myers has already been through a lot, and I have only read two-thirds of the book. He gets in trouble at school for fighting multiple times. He fractures his legs doing something stupid. He suffers and excels through school. He ditches school. He writes about the world. He turns to the street and his books for comfort from all the things around him. He doubts himself and all the values that he always relied on. He suffers from racism. Many things happen to Walter Dean Myers as he grows up, and all these things happen to him because of events and people that he faces. 

       First of all, racism really affects him. Walter Dean Myers already feels inferior to others because of his speech problems. He always thought that he was smart and that he was superior because he was a very good reader, but when people complain about his speech problems he gets really mad. He doesn't even notice that he has speech problems, so that makes it even worse, and it frustrates him. On top of that, he suffers from feeling inferior to others by racism. An example of how he faces racism is when Eric wanted to bring along Walter to a party. Walter wanted to go, but Eddie told Eric that Walter couldn't come because he wasn't white. That really hurt him, but what was worse was racism and class in general. Since Walter grew up in a poor black family, his hope for a successful future diminished as he realized where he was, surrounded by class and racial issues. This is probably the reason why he attends high school less and less. He probably feels like there is no hope even if he attends school and succeeds. Walter started to realize this when he grew older and startes to write about his neighborhood, Harlem. 

       Second of all, Walter's books and his writing positively impacts him the most. Even though there isn't really a person that positively affects him that much, his books and his writing really helps him. There are two reasons why they positively impact him. The first one is because he can escape the horrid world through reading and writing. The world is very mean to him sometimes. On his eighth birthday, which was his first party, his uncle died. That ruined his first birthday party. To make it even worse. his father became depressed from it, making his whole family depressed for almost a year. Other horrible things that he faces in the world is that racism doesn't only affect his education, it also affects his part-time job. Walter gets moved from a decent job to a tiresome and hard job just because he was black. When he writes, he can write about the good things about the world, and he write about what he wants the world to be like. The other way how reading and writing affects Walter is because he can feel that he is superior, and he never has to deal with other people's criticism. He can write without people complaining about his speech problems. He can be like a "white".

     With all these negative and positive things affecting Walter, he definitely changed. He now becomes more independent. He can just ignore the world and do whatever he wants with his writing. Some events and people also affect him negatively. Because of the racism that he suffers from and his class issues, he loses all hope for a successful future. He starts to ditch school, and he just gets really mad. Racism also affects his social life and his part-time job. Walter learns how to deal with all the bad things that are surrounding him, such as racism and class issues. The loss of innocence journey that he is still on doesn't really accomplish much, and actually kind of ruins him, even though it does make him stronger. This journey teaches me that even when you think that there is no hope left, there is always something that can make you feel stronger and help you escape the world. 

    

Purple Heart: Theme

     I have just finished Purple Heart, by Patricia McCormick, and it is a very strong and deep book. This book has many social issues, a story line that really impacts you, and a strong message that the author is trying to get to the readers. Purple Heart is about the story of Private Matt Duffy in Iraq. Matt Duffy is a new soldier that got shot by an RPG while in combat and ends up in an army hospital. When he wakes up in the army hospital, he's honored with a Purple Heart, which is a medal given to heroes. Even though he has this award, he doesn't feel like a hero. The reason why he doesn't feel like a hero is because he has a memory of a young boy that he knows, Ali, being shot. Matt feels like he shot him, but it was actually his friend Justin, who had shot Ali. Ali was just a little kid who enjoyed playing soccer and who was homeless, and he was shot because of the war. Also, when they went to the market and the whole market was being shot at, it showed the effect of war. I think that the theme, and the message that the author is trying to get to us is that the effect of war is really bad, and it affects many people.
     First of all, the author is trying to make us realize that war kills many innocent people. Just like the incident with Ali. Ali was in the alleyway where the battle was taking place, and he ended up getting a bullet hitting his chest. Since Matt had a feeling that he was somehow involved in his death, he really didn't feel like a hero, and he feels really bad about it. It really hurts Matt. Matt can't think about anything and he never gets that image out of his head. It haunts him. Also, when Matt's squad gets sent to patrol the market, a blast occurs and a gunfight starts. Before the blast, Charlene, Matt's friend, was just looking at rugs that this man and his son was selling. Everything was normal and innocent people were going on with their lives. As it said in the text, "The mood in the market was lively, like it was the day of the festival.People took their time shopping , milling around the various stalls, stopping to watch an old man dancing in front of a boom box instead of scurrying from stall to stall as they had before the ceasefire" (177). Everything was normal, but then a blast occurred. As it said in the text, "There was nothing left of the rug seller's stand except a piece of torn plastic sheeting flapping in the wind," (178). Since there was nothing left of the stand, the rug seller and his son must have died or at least have gotten injured from the blast. The rug seller didn't do anything, he was so innocent, and him and his son might have died.
     Second of all, war really affects the soldiers. Including the basic effect of being a soldier, which is actually being hurt, like what Matt, Justin, Wolf, and Charlene experiences, they also leave a family far away that needs them and being far away from the ones you love. Many soldiers get hurt and it can get more serious than just an injury and actually cause death. When Charlene and Wolf died from the blast in the market, Matt was really affected by it and was hurt. After that incident occurred, Matt was just sitting around the barracks all day long thinking. Matt even recapped the whole incident and remembered what had happened to his friends. Quotes of Justin were stuck in his head. "He wasn't who you thought he was," (184), was a line that was stuck in his head from what Justin said. Also, all of the soldiers have families back home that they support and love, and now the soldiers left their families. When Wolf died, some people were saying that Wolf's little sister was sending him Rice Krispie Treats.
     In conclusion, the theme of Purple Heart is that war affects many soldiers and innocent people, and that is just wrong. All these people have loved ones, and it really hurts the victim's family. The author, Patricia McCormick, wants us to feel that war is very bad and that war really messes up a country and all of its people. The author wants us to know that war kills many innocent people, such as Ali and the people from the market. The same happened on September 11, 2001. Almost 3,000 people died from the attacks that took place that day, and they were just innocent business people. They just went to work, like every other day, but this day, many died. I hope that the theme of this book gets across to every person who reads this book.
   

Blog Review of Hou In Chan's Blog Post on Author's Intrusion in Paper Towns

     After reading Hou In Chan's blog post on the book Paper Towns, written by John Green, I was really able to understand the author's message of Paper Towns, even though I have never read Paper Towns. Based on Hou In's blog post, Paper Towns is about a teenager named Quentin Jacobsen who secretly watches the life of Margo Roth Spiegelman. Quentin watches Margo until the real person climbs into his room and demands for him to take part in her revengeful plans. The author's intrusion that Hou In found, and the one that she says that shows a lot about the author's message is, "from here, you can't see the rust or the cracked paint or whatever, but you can tell what the place really is. You can see how fake it all is" (57). I strongly believe that Hou In did well on her post, because she backs up her point with a lot of details, quotes, and she relates the message to the real world and even the title.
     I haven't read Paper Towns, but reading Hou In's post makes me want to read this book. I say this because Hou In really showed the message in her post, and the message in Paper Towns is one that I can relate to, and the message would teach me a lot about the world around me. The message in Paper Towns is an important message that can really change the perspective of a person. From what Hou In says, the message in this book, and the intention of John Green, is that "even though we may think that we can see through people in our lives, sometimes it may just be a camouflage of their true self." Hou In's post asks many philosophical questions, such as, "How can you tell between something real or fake?" This question really makes me think about human nature and the world around us. Everyday we are surrounded by real things and fake things. I completely agree with Hou In when she says that "When you look from far away, everything seems to be simplified. The weaknesses are like hidden by a human's eyes when you look from a distance. But up close, you can see all the imperfections. There are scratches, cracks, and stains. It can't be buried forever." Hou In is completely right when she says this. When she says this, it even goes into a deeper message. That message is that things can't always be hidden, and eventually you will see the truth behind the thing. Just like the place that is in Paper Towns that is fake. You can't see from far away the rust and the cracked paint, but you can tell that it is fake and that the place does have rust and cracked paint.
     Hou In's blog post makes me think about The Catcher in the Rye. I say this because Holden Caulfield realizes the truth behind many things, from all the phonies in his school to people's true intention and how people really feel. When Holden describes his school people, he talks about how they falsely advertise themselves and how all the people in his school are phonies. Holden can see through the students and the school and realize that they aren't as smart and good as they think that they are. Holden also realizes how people really feel, like when he could tell that the old lady would get mad when something new was told to her. He knew that she would be very mad, because she will realize that she lived her whole life with wrong knowledge.
     I have read a few posts by Hou In, but this one definitely stands out, because first of all, she wrote this blog post after reading her book for only a few days and she still has really strong thoughts, and she relates these thoughts and messages to the world and to the title. Also, this blog post include citations, this blog post is beautifully written, and this blog post includes many philosophical thoughts and questions that can really get you to think about human nature and the world around you. I really like the way that Hou In wrote her post. Hou In dissected one line and she dug deeper into in, reading in between the lines, and coming out with a great, strong thought. Her blog post wasn't just summarizing. The blog post was full of thoughts, quotes, and evidence. Hou In's blog post was really engaging, because she proposed many philosophical thoughts and questions, and really made you think about the world. I can add more thoughts, quotes, evidence, citations, and philosophical thoughts into my blog posts. I also need to make my summary shorter. Overall, I believe that Hou In's blog post is very thoughtful, deep, and strong.