Insurgent Review

    I chose Insurgent because I read the first book in the series which is Divergent. I loved Divergent so much and I could not wait to start Insurgent, and I ended up loving Insurgent even more! I thought everything about the book and the way it was written was so amazing. I read the whole series in three weeks because it was so good, I read all of Insurgent in a day because of how good it was. I would recommend the book to someone who likes action books but with romance. The combination of the two works really well and it makes the book so incredible. Also if you like to read about Utopian societies then you would like this book a lot I think. If you liked the Hunger Games this is a lot similar but better so that would be another to read Insurgent or the whole series. If you're looking for a new book this is your book so you should read it!

Are you hooked yet?

“Dauntless traitors crowded the hallway; the Erudite crowd the execution room, but there, they have made a path for me already. Silently they study me as I walk to the metal table in the center of the room. Jeanine stands a few steps away. The scratches on her face show through hastily applied makeup. She doesn't look at me.

Four cameras dangle from the ceiling, one at each corner of the table. I sit down first, wipe my hands off on my pants, and then lie down.

The table is cold. Frigid, seeping into my skin, into my bones. Appropriate, perhaps, because that is what will happen to my body when all the life leaves it; it will become cold and heavy, heavier than I have ever been. As for the rest of me, I am not sure. Some people believe that I will go nowhere, and maybe they’re right, but maybe they’re not. Such speculations are no longer useful to me anyway.

Peter slips an electrode beneath the collar of my shirt and presses it to my chest, right over my heart. He then attaches a wire to the electrode and switches on the heart monitor. I hear my heartbeat, fast and strong. Soon, where that steady rhythm was, there will be nothing.

And then rising from within me is a single thought:

I don’t want to die." 

This is one of my favorite parts of Insurgent, it is a really serious point in the book.  I don't want to give anything away because this is a big deal in the book so I don't want to ruin it. My best way of explaining this without giving anything away would be that during this part the main character is going through a very traumatic experience and she is emotionally struggling during this part. Potentially something extremely huge is about to happen but I'm not going to reveal that information because you should just read the book and find out!

Insurgent Update

        I'm almost done with my book and a lot has happened so far. Tris and Tobias have changed a ton in this book. They have both had to work really hard to stay together and not fight over everything. They both had to go under truth serum and that brought up a lot of things between them since they were keeping secrets from each other. Tris and Tobias both really want to help everyone and get rid of Jeanine and they are currently working with the factionless to complete that. The problem is Tris doesn't trust people as much and is struggling to trust the factionless and Tobias but Tobias is trusting them because of his mom. By not trusting one another they are struggling a lot to come up with good plans to help everyone and to stay together.

       The big theme that seems to be appearing in my book is to trust yourself and ourselves. Other themes that come up would be to always try your best to help others but to also be as brave as you possibly can because in my book the say to be brave you have to be selfless also. I think these themes are really good because they show you ways to be a better person. My book is all from Tris's point of view ,which is nice because you get to hear everything shes thinking and experiencing and I think that adds to the meaning of the book overall.

Insurgent

      This summer I started reading the sequel to Diveregent which is called Insurgent. So far it has been a really good book, better than the first one I would say. The major characters ares till Tris and Tobias (previously known as Four). So far in the book Tris has really started to change because she is started to accept her divergence more and accept what has happened to her more. She is still really upset about everything that happened to her family but she is getting through it with Tobias's help. Tobias has developed because he is trying to control himself more around his dad Marcus which is really hard for him. Currently they are living at the Amity compound but I think they will have to move soon because I think the people are going to find them and that would make them leave.

    If the people from the city find them it will be bad because to a lot of the people in the city like Jeanine and Eric they betrayed them. Also Jeanine wants to kill everyone who is Divergent and she knows that they both are so she is looking for them so that she can kill them and I'm worried if she finds them one of them might die.I'm really interested to see what will happen if she does find them and to see what they all end up choosing to do about everything.

The worst thing about my book is

          My book is really good overall but there are a few things that bother me. I've seen the movie so I think that ruins some things for me that are supposed to be surprising. I wish I didnt see the movie forst because if I hadnt I think it would make the book seem super good instead of just good.

        Another thing that bothers me is how long soem fo the chapters are. I have a short attention span so when there are long chapters, it really bothers me because then I lose attention and I have to reread stuff. I fell like if the chapters were shorter it would make the book go by a lot faster sicne the book is so long it would be  nice to have it go by faster.

Struggles

       Currently in Divergent Tris is in initiation. During initiation she changed her name from Beatrice to Tris. Initiation is something dauntless does, where they say you chose us now its our turn to choose you. They go three stages and after each stage people get kicked out, in the end there will only be ten initiates, currently there is 21. If they don't get picked they will become factionless, which is everyones worse nightmare in their world.

        Tris is worried because she is the only abnegation transfer and hasn't experienced what most of the others have and she is really weak compared to them. She is struggling because she is putting herwself through a lot of physical pain, pain she has never experienced before. She keeps loosing part of her family in her mind by being different then how she she ever was. She got a tattoo which is frowned upon, she is showing more skin, she looked at herself in the mirror, and wore clothes they didnt wear. She is struggling with this because she doesnt want tot loose all of her family connections. I'm worried to see how initiation goes for her because I dont want her end up factionless.

Blog Reflection

I chose my post titled Best thing about Divergent, I like this post because I think my voice really shows throughout the post.  I show my opinion by using adjectives that I think describe whatever I’m talking about at that moment.  I said, “If the characters were boring you'd probably stop reading it or read it and hate it because it would be boring without complex characters.” I think this shows how I feel well because I’m stating that the book would be boing if the characters weren’t the way they are. It showcases how I feel books and their characters should be.

I use elevated diction by describing things with higher vocabulary instead of casual words like nice and cool. I describe things with more detail instead of barely describing things and giving them a simple description. I said, “The author also makes a lot of the characters very complex and interesting, by having the characters like that it helps you stay interested in the book and what is happening in the book.” I use words like complex and interesting to give you a better understanding of the characters not just they’re nice, I tell you that there is a lot to them in as a person.  I use longer sentences to explain how I fell and explain what is happening. By doing so I think everything makes since more.  I said, “Another great thing about the book is how much detail the author gives you on what is happening, you know what is happening at every precise moment.” This is a longer sentence to show how the detail does affect your reading and how it helps you.  

Predictions Continued....

              I predicted that Beatrice was not going to pick erudite and she didn't but her brother actually ended up switching factions and going there. I thought if she got over the guilt of leaving her family she would pick dauntless and if she couldn't get over the guilt then she would stay in abnegation. The choosing ceremony came around and you really thought she was going to stay in abnegation because of her family. Especially after her brother switched she really was struggling with leaving because then her parents would loose two kids in one day. Beatrice was called up to choose and she cut her hand, she held her hand over the abnegation bowl and at the last moment she switched her hand above dauntless and let the blood drip onto the coals. She had decided dauntless.

            Once she got to the dauntless headquarters they said to jump off the roof and she went first, being as brave as she possibly could she jumped. Landed on a net and a boy helped her down his name was Four. Beatrice changed her name to Tris once she got there for a new beginning. Currently they are doing initiation and I'm curious to see if she makes if through initiation or if she becomes factionless.

Best thing about Divergent

The best part about Divergent is how much it makes you think. It makes you think about what it would like to live like that and really gets you to think about if these types of things could happen in our world. It also makes you think about decisions and what you would do when faced with a extremely hard decision like Beatrice is in the book. The book makes you wonder if things like what is happening in their society is happening somewhere in our world just in a different way. Another great thing about the book is how much detail the author gives you on what is happening, you know what is happening at every precise moment. By knowing what is happening at the moments you get a better understanding of the book.

The author also makes a lot of the characters very complex and interesting, by having the characters like that it helps you stay interested in the book and what is happening in the book. Also by having the characters like that it helps you relate to them and compare yourself to them, and then you can put yourself in their shoes more than you could if the author just made the characters boring. If the characters were boring you'd probably stop reading it or read it and hate it because it would be boring without good characters.

Krista Ramsey

              I read the column titled Coach stands by kid charged in DeSales Market crime. The column was about a basketball coach whose player had put on Halloween masks with friends and robbed a store with a fake gun. the coach had taken the kid in as his own in a way and stood by the kids team during the whole thing, Krista wrote to the kid in jail form her and the coaches perspective. I thought the line that says, "And the guys who always takes your calls." This line has an impact because it really shows how much the Coach cares for the kid and shows how much he wants to be there for him, most coaches wouldn't be there as much as he is. The line has informal diction but it has so much meaning behind it that it works as a line. It also is a fragment and starts with the word "and", which adds some cool syntax to it.

            Ramsey uses a lot of spacing in her writing and strong vocabulary. She also doesn't always do her columns just from her specific and her audience isn't always multiple people sometimes it's directed to one or a few specific people. She also adds a lot of opinion to her writing to get her point across and makes you actively read like you're talking to her not juts reading it. For example she says, "The result?", it is almost in a way directed towards you. When she's talking to a specific person she makes it sound like she's talking to you but she's not like, "That probably doesn't surprise you." Overall her writing is very interesting and she makes you get hooked to continue reading by having good lines and flow throughout her columns.

3 Questions I would ask her:

1. What made you become a writer and have you always liked writing?
2. How long have you been writing columns?
3. How do you decide what to write about and then how to go upon writing it?

Krista Ramsey Column

Predictions

     So far I'm on chapter 4 of Divergent which isn't to far but there's been a lot of detail so far. Right now she just had her aptitude test and she found out she was Divergent which means you are more than one faction. The problem is you're not supposed to be more than one faction, it's considered bad in there world since everyone is supposed to have their own role and be in basically one category of types of people. She is struggling with which faction to choose. There's dauntless which is the fearless group and she's always looked up to them. Then there's erudite which is the "smart" people and she's never been bad in school but she worries she won't fit in. Then there's her home abnegation, she loves how kind and caring they all are but she doesn't feel like she fits in, she thinks she's not genuine enough, the only  problem is that's where her family is.

     Beatrice is struggling to decide where to go. There's pros and cons at every single faction she is "fit" to go in. My predictions are that she is not going to go to erudite. I think she feels like she won't fit in enough there and she doesn't always like how they act and treat others. I think she is really stuck between abnegation and dauntless. I have seen the movie so I know what she picks but the book is really leading me to no where like if i had not seen the movie I would have no clue. The book is making you think that if she can get over leaving her family then she'll pick dauntless but if she doesn't think about herself then she'll stay in abnegation. I'm excited to see how the book plays it out and shows how she decides where to go.

Why I Chose Divergent

A few weeks ago I went and saw Divergent with some friends. It was by far one of the best movies I've seen lately. I'm a Hunger Gmaes fanatic which is a big reason why I chose to see the movie and read the book. They both are a different type of society and make you think in a completely different way. You have to think more about survival and making big decisions which sometimes are life and death.

What makes me have the motivation to read and finish the book is how much the movie made me think, just makes me imagine how much I'll have to think with more details from the book. Also I don't nomally read long books and Divergent is a longer book than what I usually read. It being a longer book makes me want to get through it faster and it would be an accomplishment for me to not lose attention and read a longer book. I've only read one chapter at this point but so far it is as good or even better than I expected. I hope the more and more I read the better it gets.

Farenheit 451 Characterizaiton

Clarisse is a 17 year old girl. I see her a skinny, really pretty blonde. I think she would be a very fit person, possibly athletic. I think her personality is really outgoing, I also find her to be smart and clever. She knows things other people don't and she's not scared to talk about all that. I think she is really fearless. She is curious and doesn't follow the way of life everyone else does.  I think she is going to cause Montag to start a rebellion over her memory.

An important quote she said is "You know I'm not afraid of you at all." (pg.11) This is important because it shows how she's not like everyone else, since everyone else is so afraid of the firemen and what they'll do. This quote shows how she's not afraid to be honest about how she feels and what she thinks about the world. An important quote said about her would be "'You are an odd one,' he said, looking at her." (pg.12) This is important because it shows that even other people know that she's different from everyone else and that she doesn't follow all the rules of the society. It shows how people think being deifferent is weird and not normal when really it should be normal and okay to be different, everyone shouldn't be the same and Clarisse knows that.

The movie

I have seen the first half of the movie i haven't had time to finish the whole movie yet. I'm excited to finish the movie though, it has been really good so far. I think Angelina Jolie has done an amazing job representing Susanna as a character.The director has really made the book and movie go together and has represented the book very well. I hope they have a good ending to the movie because if not I'd be very disappointed about it.

Theme

My book has so much go on throughout the whole thing, it is hard to find just one theme.I would say the overall theme is to never let others bring you down because you can one day show them they were wrong. I think this the theme because Susanna was told for so long that she was crazy and kind of that she didn't mean anything. she was left with no one and nothing. In the end she showed everyone they were wrong by getting back up on her feet. After she had gone through so much stuff at the mental institution, she definately proved everyone wrong.

Video from movie about book

This video is from the first 10 minutes of the movie based on the book. This is all I have seen from the movie and it seems to be showing in the book in a good way. I want to see the rest now since it so far has been good. This part of the book is when Susanna gets her assessment which puts her into the mental institution. Hopefully when you watch it, it makes you want to read the book and watch the movie.

My predictions

I,m about half way through my book at this point So far it has been really good and it makes you think. I feel like a lot has happened so far but I also feel like something big is going to happen soon. It stresses me out not knowing what;s going to happen next. I have lots of predictions but I'm sure half of them are wrong. For example my biggest prediction is that Susanna is going to be released from the mental institution and she's going to tell what exactly happened to her. I feel like I'm right on that since she did write the book, she could've wrote it in the institution but I think she wrote it after she got let out. Another prediction I have is that Daisy's suicide is going to affect a lot of people there emotionally. I think it might cause some kind of problem among all the patients since they all knew and loved Daisy.

writer

I just figured out a really cool thing about my book. I thought that someone just wrote about Susanna and what st  experienced, but actually it's a memoir. Susanna the girl who experienced it all wrote the whole thing. I think that's why the book has become so real. Everything in the book is so realistic I just can't even imagine what they people went through it is unreal to me.  I would never want to go through that it is awful and terrible. I can't even describe it to you.

real life issues

My new book is called Girl, Interrupted, it has been so good. There's lots of real life issues that I have noticed within my book. Like I mean it doesn't relate to my life or anyone I know but it has stuff in it about other things that happen to people. Something that was big that happened would be the main person Susanna took 50 aspirin and went to a psychiatrist. After just one hour with him he sent her to a mental institution, he told her it was only going to be a couple weeks. The book talks about what they do to you there. It's awful. The book really makes you feel like you were there when everything happened and I love it.

Yay I found a better book!

I was at half price looking for a new book and I wasn't finding anything. Then I went to the psychology section because that interests me and I found the best book ever. So I went to the school library and got the book.

My new book is called Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. It is a true story and it is actually written by the person the stuff happened to which makes it so much better. The book is about Susanna and when she was in the mental institute in 1967. It talks about people she was there with. Also about how badly they were treated in there and what she was personally going through. Her psychiatrist of like 1 hour put her in there when she was 18. He saus she was going only for a couple years, well that was a lie, it hasn't been a couple weeks it's been a lot longer actually. I/m excited to get farther into the book and here more about her experience at McLean Hospital.