The Outsiders (entry #1)

        For the past couple days, I have been reading, "The Outsiders" By S.E. Clinton. Even though I'm just barely half way through the book, a lot has happened. Before a few chapters ago, I thought it would just be a normal book about a rivalry between two gangs, and maybe at one point in the book they would have a huge gang fight and in the end they'll just go back to normal, but I was very wrong. The author has completely made a huge turn in the opposite direction. After what seemed like a normal night at the movies, the characters Ponyboy and Johnny we walking home when all of a sudden some of the Socs (the rival gang) jump out of know where and 10 minutes later Johnny is telling Ponyboy that he killed one of them. All of a sudden they;re out in the country hiding from the police. It was a big choice for the author to choose to have such a twist, but it was a smart one. If they hadn't chosen to do that, I'm sure the novel would've never succeeded the way it did, and would've never have become the American classic it is today. Even though I am just half way through the book, I can tell it will get better and better.

Girl, Interrupted

       For the past week, I have been reading "Girl, Interrupted." I really enjoyed this book because of how different it is. I loved how she really connects to the character (aka herself) and really puts you into her shoes. The characters are so interesting and unique, one second they seem like perfectly normal people, another their shouting and slamming doors and making a big fuss. I would never be able to do what she did. After reading the book, I realized she didnt make all of this up, but that this really happened to her. Being forced to go to a mental hospital and having to live with people like Lisa, Daisy, and Georgina would scare me to death. And then, on top of that that having to write a book about it and having to re-visit all the memories about living in te hospital seems unimaginably difficult to me. All together I think Susanna Kaysen did a great job on describing what her life was like living in a mental hospital, and nobody could've done a better job.

Summer Reading Response

     Over the summer, one of my favorite books that I read was, "To Kill A Mockingbird." I really enjoyed this book because I learned a lot from it. One of my favorite things about the book is that you can read it at almost any age and still understand it. Even if you are 40 years old, you can still learn a lot from it, and it seems like you get more out of it every time you read it. Also something I found interesting was that even if it is a book that can teach you a lot about writing, the book can also teach things about history. In fact, "To Kill  Mockingbird" would be a perfect book to read if you were focused on learning about the south in the 1930's.  Another thing I learned from this book was how different it was in the southern part of America then. For example, When Scout and her father, Atticus were talking about the trial about Tom Robinson, they mentioned that it was a law that all people guilty for rape were charged with the death penalty in the state of Alabama. I knew that the south was a horrible place to live then, with completely unfair rules, but I didn't expect them to be that bad. Another thing that I learned form "To Kill A Mockingbird" was the different writing styles. I noticed that throughout the book the perspective changed between older Scout telling it from the past, and younger Scout telling it from the present. All and all, Harper Lee is a great story teller that can write books that teach you all sorts of things.