Final Blog Post: "We'll Always Have Summer" by Jenny Han

     In the book “We’ll Always Have Summer” by Jenny Han, the story about a love between one girl and two boys. Seems like a simple love triangle, But there’s a twist, the two boys are brothers. The main character Isabel has feelings for both brothers, Jeremiah Fisher and Conrad Fisher. As Isabel begins to take bigger and bigger steps into adulthood true feelings come out. Although Isabel agreed to marry Jeremiah she’s still in love with her ex-boyfriend Conrad. One question I focused on as I read this book was, What is Isabel’s coming of age experience?

       In the beginning of the book, Isabel and Jeremiah were truly in love. Isabel would do anything for Jeremiah and vice-versa. For example, “Burrowing my head in his shoulder, He kissed my hair ‘I can’t have my girl skipping meals left and right’” (Page 4). This shows that Jeremiah really cares about Isabel. That love suddenly changed when Isabel found out Jeremiah cheated on her. For example, “…’did you hook up with Lacie Barone during spring break?’...’Belly-‘‘I knew it’” (Page 17). This shows that Jeremiah tried to hide that secret from Isabel.

      In the middle of the book, Conrad and Isabel were at Cousins for spring break. As Isabel got closer and closer to Conrad she realized she still loved him. “Looking up at him, I had this sudden thought. Oh my God. I still love you.” (Page 44). This shows that Isabel still has the same feelings for Conrad as she did before they became exes. At the end of the book, Jeremiah and Isabel got back together even though Isabel loves Conrad. Jeremiah proposed to Isabel and she said yes. On the day of the wedding Jeremiah didn’t show up to the wedding. For example, “…Another thing that didn’t happened that day: Jeremiah and I didn’t get married.” (Page 287) This shows that Jeremiah didn’t really love Isabel like he did in the beginning of the book.

       All of these events led up to the moment where Isabel found true love, in Conrad. A few months after Jeremiah didn’t show to the wedding, Conrad proposed to Isabel. This also shows how adulthood is a serious thing. You have to be careful of what you do as you go into adulthood. Isabel also had some regrets as she came into adulthood, like saying yes to Jeremiah. This book showed that as Isabel was growing into adulthood she faced many challenges, but got through all of them and ended up happy at the end.

Non Fiction Reading Response #2

​        Based on the article "A Womens' Rights Push" by Karen Elliott House, Women in Saudi Arabia are taking jobs and challenging the ban on driving. In Saudi women are not aloud to drive, work, or go to any religious outings. Women are accepted to have a chaperone or they can't go any where. Some women are challenging this ban and are trying their hardest to work and drive. One woman named  Jawharah 35-years-old is working for the first time. Jawharah's husband inspected the store before she could take the job as a saleswoman. Jawharah says " It's nice to get out and work and get paid" Jawharah is a part of a new wave of women who are pushing the boundaries of what woman are allowed to do.

           The author included these details to show how women's lives in Saudi Arabia are. The author adds lots of specific detail about religion to show how women compare to women.The author added lots of information so we can get a better understanding on why women were being mistreated. The author provides all these examples to help explain the article and to help make sense of it.

          The author uses a quote to help convey her message. The authors message is, that inequality between men and women In Saudi Arabia is wrong. The author interviewed Jawharah a women who was challenging the bans against women. The author used the quote to express how women are trying to break free of these rules to feel normal. 

       After reading this article I realized that sexism still goes on around the world. This makes me feel bad for girls in Saudi Arabia because they have to have a chaperone to go anywhere. This also shows me how greatful I should be that I have the freedom to walk around without a chaperone. This was a very interesting article. I liked how this article showed a different side to different culture and religion.

   

Just Peachy

Just Peachy

 Roses are red, violets are blue

But,What about peach what does she do?

Dear PEACH,

The way you float in the sky

Mixed with an assortment of colors

Yellow, Red, Orange.

You’re a burst of color

A bright neon light

Streaming across

MY

New York City skyline

Perfect!

You glow bright and move fluently.

Some people may call you

Pink or Orange

Don’t pay attention to them,

Because you have a unique

Style and personality

You are a combination

Of pink and orange

You shine bright against a summer sunset

And reflect against the midday WAVES

Brushing along the shore

You’re sweet and kind

You’re PEACH

One minute you’re here

The next your there

Your all around

But most people don’t care

Just remember the most important thing,

You will always stand out

No matter how dull or bright

You seem!

Reflection

                    Writing my own poem was a great experience. Writing my own poem took a long process. The first thing I did was to get inspiration; I got my inspiration from a free write prompt. The prompt was to write a poem about a color. The second thing I did was brainstorm on my color. The color I choose was peach because it is my favorite color and has many different meanings. Thirdly I started writing out all my feelings and things that expressed peach. For example, during a warm summer evening as the sun sets there is a pretty peach color along the horizon. Lastly, I revised my poem and added some visuals to give an even better example of imagery.

              

             During this unit I have learned the fundamentals of writing poems. My understanding of poetry has changed by me being able to express more through a poem. My experience with poetry has changed, I have progressed in writing poetry. One memorable discussion about poetry was when we worked in a group and performed our poems. This was memorable because it made me see poetry in a different way. It also made me better understand poems. Another memorable lesson was the literary devices lesson because it helped with understanding poems. Poems have literary devices but it's up to the reader to figure them out and this help me focus on the core of poems. 

             

             

“Photograph of the Girl” Poetry Reading Response

“Photograph of the Girl” Poetry Reading Response

     By: Joselyn Rodriguez 808                                       

            In the poem “Photograph of the Girl” by Sharon Olds, the poet uses: allusions and imagery to show the pain and hope for the girl. In the beginning of the poem the poet shows sadness and sympathy. Towards the middle of the poem the poet represents pain in an interesting way. At the end of the poem the poet shows hope for the girl.

           

             In the beginning of the poem “Photograph of the Girl” I felt sad and sympathetic for the girl. Sharon Olds the poet adds some lines into the poem that show sadness or misery. For example: “… In the drought of 1921, stunned, eyes closed mouth open, raw hot wind blowing sand in her face.” This quotation sets the mood for the poem. This quotation goes along with the idea of sadness and sorrow because the girl has no source of water which can’t help her stay healthy.

           

               The poet used two main literary devices to help support the poem, one of them was imagery. In this poem the author used imagery to show the pain and hardship of the girl. For example, “Hunger and puberty are taking her together. She leans on a sack, layers of clothes fluttering in the heat…” This quotation gives an image of pain because as her body grows starvation is taking a toll over her body. This also shows pain for the readers because this girl could be dying and no one is really there that can help her.

             

                 The poet used two main literary devices for the poem; the second one was allusion. The poet used allusion to show the hope this girl has during her down side of life. For example, “Deep in her body the ovaries let out her first eggs, golden as drops of rain.” This quotation refers to a period females have. This gives hope to the readers by showing the girl may be able to provide life for another person.

             

                 Reading this poem reminds readers about their own personal pain and sadness. Many people feel pain and sadness and believe that things can only get worse. While, hope can come and save the day and help people get through all their pain and struggles. This relates to the poem because the girl experienced lots of pain and suffer that when she felt hope she knew things might be alright.

Poetry Writing

Just Peachy!

The way you float in the sky

Mixed with an assortment of colors

Yellow, Red, Orange.

You’re a burst of color

A bright neon light

Streaming across

MY

New York City skyline

Perfect!

You glow bright and move fluently.

Some people may call you

Pink or Orange

Don’t pay attention to them,

Because you have a unique

Style and personality

You’re sweet and kind

You’re JUST PEACHY!

Blankets By: Craig Thompson

        As I was reading the graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson I focused on one critical thinking question "Is the story fair? Why/why not?" The main character Craig and his brother Phil are mistreated by their family and other people. Craig and Phil were mistreated by their father. At school Craig gets beat up and bullied for defending his brother Phil.
       
         Craig and Phil are mistreated by their family. Craig and Phil have to share a bed and fight a lot about little things, If Craig and Phil fought they're dad would separate them. For example, "The cubby hole was the forgotten room of our house. Hidden behind the removable wood paneling in the playroom.." (Thompson 15). Craig was mistreated by other classmates and kids in school. For example, "Your little brother with his messy hair and stupid voice must be retarded!" (Thompson 21).
             
         As I was read this graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson one critical thinking question stood out the most, "Is the story fair? Why/why not?". The main character Craig and his brother Phil are being neglected by their family and bullied by others. Craig and Phil were neglected by their father. At school Craig gets beat up for defending his brother Phil from older kids.
   
   

Non-fiction Reading Response

               ​Based on the article ​Rethinking Juvenille Justice​ by John Schwartz "After years of moving in the opposite direction, many states are now making it harder to try teen offenders in the adult justice system." In Denver, 2008 seventeen year old James Stewart got into a car accident while driving drunk. When James Stewart was drunk driving he slammed into another car head on and killed the driver. James was arrested and placed under Juvenille offenders, but was charged as an adult. He was taken to the county jail, as he was left alone he took his own life by tightening a bed sheet around is neck.

         The author included these details so we understand the specific of how charging a teenager with an adult sentence can affect many things. This is a very sad and disturbing topic because teen suicied is not okay. This makes me wonder how many teens get sentenced to serious adult charges. I feel very sad for the victims family because if James Stewart wasn't charged with an adult sentence he would probably still alive. The author wants us to feel sad and sympathetic for James Stewart because of his death at such a young age.

        The author uses specific information like dates and quotes from important people to convey his message. I think the author could've used the Stewart family's perspective on the topic to explain more.  The author uses the officials in his article which helps broaden the article. For example, Marsha Levick of the juvinile law center in philidelphia said, " What we are seeing is a very stark and important rethinking of how we treat juvenile criminal offenders."

       After reading this article I realized that court orders are very firm and serious with their decisions. This article does not change my thinking about the unfair charges of teenage crimes. This article is serious because teen suicied is a very serious matter. Adult charges on teens can affect teen families and teens.