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"I watch them up there on the surface. So far away. A different world from this quiet endless darkness. I watch and rage."(342)

"Tasha made her craziness sound so reasonable...How badly wired was her head?"(331-332)

"I don't even know how to start writing this. I don't even know if I should write this. I gulped like a fish torn from water..."(193, 194)

"Hayley: Yeah it was weird. She really doesn't remember.
Jenny: You think she will? I'm scared.
Me 2. I'll call you l8r.
I wish she'd died.
DELETE! We'll be ok.
Delete thread or just that?
Thread."(50)

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Something similar between me and Becca is that both of us have inner thoughts at times and think about even the little things very precisely. For example, Becca thinks about her friend for about a week, trying to organize every little detail about her. Sometimes, I try to critically understand small situations as well.

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Another thing similar between me and America is our friendship. To our close friends, we are loving and caring towards each other and push them on. However, to friends that aren't so close, people that we still like but don't talk to much, we see as competition. Of course, we still love both friends, we just feel like something has to boost us up.

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Something that I saw that was similar between me and America was that we both get extra happy if our parents are proud of something we do. In her case, after America told her dad that she wasn't doing well in the palace, her dad told her that he believes in her, that she can do whatever her heart desires. This was enough to make me feel like both of us have the similarity in feeling happy, accomplished, if we make our parents proud.

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At the end of the book, America has to say bye to everyone in the palace that she loves. Even if this is what she wanted, it is so hard to say bye. I can see similarities between us when she does this. Whenever I go to India to see all my relatives, leaving the huge families and warm smiles is so hard to do. Yes, I want to go back to my friends and school and all, but I still feel like a part of me is always going to be in India.

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One thing about the main character that I like is her bravery. America knew that she would be out of the selection, but she wanted to make an impact even if she wouldn't be there anymore. So, she raised her voice and talked about the inequalities in the caste systems that their country had. The reason that this is a window for me is because most of the times, I am someone who stays quiet and lets anything happen. I learned from this book that its about making things happen, about justice and equality.

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One topic that is incorporated in the story 13 minutes is that of friendship and betrayal. In the book, there are many times where we see someone betraying their friend of becoming friends with someone else. I have learned from this topic that there might be times where you trust someone but they prove wrong, or the opposite can be true. I still want to know how being "the leader" of a group can affect you as a person. Based on this topic, the plot was changed. If there was no sign of people betraying their friends, there would be no plot in the first place. The whole reason Tasha planned to "murder" herself was so that she could take revenge on her friends for "betraying" her.

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I think that the main idea of my book is that nothing can stay forever. This is because of how the author portrays the characters in the story. The antagonist is a young woman who thinks that she wants to be the most popular girl at school FOREVER. The protagonist thinks that she wants to be friends with the antagonist FOREVER. The reason this is so important is because at the end of the story, both girls don't get what they want. Adding on, the story ends by saying, "best friends forever." This shows me that nothing can be everlasting except death. That moving on is the only way to accomplish things. I also saw other messages in the book, like finding the people that actually care about you instead of people that just you care about.

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In one scene of the book, Tasha, who we later find out is the antagonist, talks about Becca as someone she has already beaten, someone who is "at her feet". Becca, however, thinks about ways she can stop Tasha from doing the terrible things to her friends and family. When I see this comparison of personality between the two characters, I understand why it is so important to use alternating views in the story; we have a bigger perspective. As the reader, I can get a sense about what is happening all around me which will, in turn, help me relate to the book more.

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Minutes Read: 25
Pages Read: 30
How I felt today:
- Major events was sad at times
- interesting to read
- wasn't distracted
Did I meet my goal: No

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At the end of the book, Tasha dies from being eaten by a wolf or animal of some sort in the woods. As she is dying, she gets a vision of death grabbing her leg, and pulling her in to the eerie darkness. Tasha doesn't want to go, because she planned all of this out so SHE could have the benefit. On the other hand, we see Becca's point of view on Tasha dying. We see a scared, crazy girl trying to get help. Learning about both perspectives helped me find the theme of the book; friendship. The whole point of this book is to know that there are good friends and bad friends, and that there is no such thing as forever. We see that incorporated in the story when Becca knows that she can't stop her crazy ex-bff from dying.

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Event: America is stuck between two people; two decisions. Who should she choose? How should she live?
Reflection: I think that I have been in a situation that is similar to Esperanza's. Of course, I haven't been called to a kingdom and have had to choose between two boys, but there have been times where I feel like I can't make a decision without hurting myself and the other choice. Even daily scenarios, like what to eat for breakfast, can be difficult sometimes when I am in a dilemma. However, I know that the only way to help this is to be more confident in myself and aim for the best.

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After finishing 13 minutes, I have found that I don't really like the novel. This is because of the way the author ends the plot of a girl drowning in a freezing lake. At the end, we find out that she did it because she is a "psychopath", and I thought there would be such a bigger twist in the story. However, I liked the idea of betrayal and friendship shown throughout the book, because it made me want to keep reading the story. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, but people that want a mix of betrayal in friendship and a murder mystery might find this book interesting. This story is not very thrilling, but it is attention-grabbing and has many plot twists.

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Started: 12/9/2021
Finished: 12/13/2021

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I chose this goal because I have been meeting my second goal every single time. However, I didn't increase it by much because I want to stay consistent with my reading and increase at a slow/steady pace. I think this goal will help me read faster, which I really want to do.

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Minutes Read: 40
Pages Read: 40
How I felt today:
- Stayed Focused
- Started a new book so was fun to read
- wasn't lost
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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There are many conflicts throughout the story 13 minutes. Some minor conflicts include the conflicts between Becca and her boyfriend Aiden and other small characters in the book. However, a major conflict that's there in the bulk of the story is the one between Tasha and her friends, who are the prime suspects of the murder. The conflict that I see between them is that both people think they are being overpowered or overruled by the other group. This makes both groups feel like they need to take revenge on each other, which causes a lot of conflict.

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Event: Becca stops her own life just to help her ex-best friend solve a case about who killed her. At the end of the book, she finds out that Tasha planned out this whole thing.
Reflection: In this scenario, we see that Becca has been betrayed, a lot, because she lost her best friend, boy friend, and any little social status she had to a liar. This can be relatable at times, but of course not as hurtful. Sometimes, you think that people are there for you and care for you because they love you, and then you start to help them. Later, they they turn their back on you. This has definitely happened to me before, but it helped shape who I am today.

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One of the best choices that I think the author did to the book was making it multi-perspective. In this novel, I see conversations between characters, text messages between killers, diary entries, and just thoughts of different people. This definitely makes the reader more interested in continuing the story and makes the story very suspicious. As I just said, the author adds chapters that are literally just dialogue from one character to the other. However, I think that she can improve on the word choice to make the book hard to understand, but in a good way. This way, the book will have more of a grasp to the story. There isn't much figurative language incorporated throughout the story as well, because the main characters are teens that usually get straight to the point. There is no use of any flashbacks/flash-forwards, but the way Tasha explains her thoughts throughout the book is very detailed.

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In one scene of the book, Becca starts doubting Tasha about how Tasha drowned herself, like it was all a set-up prank. She gathers evidence and a video proving her point. We can see that because Becca went through so much to help give justice to Tasha, she feels so angry and betrayed. On the other hand, Tasha gives an incite about whats going on in her mind. We truly see how mean she is and that she is a crazy woman who will go to the extent of killing people if she has to. Without understand Tasha's true personality, it would be impossible for the readers to figure out the mystery of who really tried to kill Tasha. We see that Tasha is a totally different person AND that Becca is going to do something about it.

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Minutes Read: 40
Pages read: 36
How I felt today:
- Easy to stay focused
- Didn't look at the time as much
- felt excited because this was pretty much the end of all the plot twists
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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The narrators in my book, Tasha and Becca, are like polar opposites but also very similar. Tasha is the school's queen bee, all glamorous and beautiful with her Barbies trailing behind her. She was the narrator in the book that drowned in a pond for 13 minutes, and the whole point of the story is to explain why she drowned and who made it happen. On the other hand, Becca is a quiet, lonely girl that spends her time with her boyfriend or at home playing chess. Both of them seem nice at first, people who don't mind getting in trouble for things but good at the heart. As a matter of fact, both of them used to be inseparable best friends a long time back but stopped because of the "popularity chain". But since I thought they were good people, I also assumed that they were believable, which I now doubt. It seems that Tasha might have attempted suicide and is trying to cover it up with her friends. I can't really connect with either of the characters, but I feel like there are more instances that I can agree with the characters than disagree.

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Minutes Read: 35
Pages Read: 64
How did I feel today: Today, I was way more "sucked into the book". This is because we had a plot twist with one of the teachers in the main character's high school being killed. This made me read more, and I only stopped to say the time at 10:05 AM. I am also happy that I wasn't distracted as much.
Did I meet my goal: Yes
**I want to keep my goal to stay consistent**

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In the book, Tasha shares her insight on how she was almost-murdered. With the information I gathered in this chapter, I understood more about the crime scene in general. On the other hand, in another chapter Becca shares how she suspected Hayley and Jenny because of the way they talked and acted. If this whole thing was told in a single-person point of view, we would miss out on minor but important details. The story would cover one character's perspective, but not the other. This is why it affects the story. I can make a hypothesis that if this story was told in a one-person perspective, the book wouldn't be as grappling and interesting.

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Another way the point of view makes a difference for the story is because it shows the readers how different people feel about one another and the relationships that make a difference in the story. What I am saying is that without understanding different people's description on others, like Hayley(Tasha's murderer) on Tasha, we wouldn't know the reason that the two friends attempted to kill Tasha. We wouldn't understand the inner thoughts of everyone essential inside the story. Even minor characters gave us a clue on the thoughts of people incorporated throughout the book.

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The biggest way the point of views between the two main characters affect the story is because we know so much more information about the story. If we didn't have Tasha's point of view, we wouldn't have known where Tasha drowned, what she was doing, and more. On the other hand, Becca is the real person who's solving the case, so without her, the whole story wouldn't make sense. I think that if this story was told from a 1-person point of view, the major evidence in the story wouldn't be present. We would only have half the knowledge on everything incorporated throughout the plot of the book.

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Event: Becca realizes that she has hurt her best friend Hannah by showing smypathy for her instead of friendship.
Reflection: In this scene, I can't connect to Becca, but I can totally relate to Hannah, her best friend. So many times, people act as if I am some kind of baby, being nice to me but not "friendly". It makes both me and the character feel as if we don't belong anywhere, like we can't do what others can. In Hannah's case, she feels like being nice is a bad thing. Based on this, I think that Hannah is going to help out Tasha's "friends" or her murderers.

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Minutes Read: 35
Pages Read: 60
How I felt: Today, I was mostly focused on the book but repeatedly looked at the time. However, I did finish many more pages than I usually would. The book started to get more interesting today.
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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Make a prediction about what you think will happen next. Use information from your story to support your prediction.

I think that in the story 13 minutes, we will find out who the real murderer is of Tasha. So far, we know that Tasha's bff's are somehow involved in this and that another man is making this happen. I can infer that Adrien, Becca's girlfriend, somehow has a part in this. This is because he talks about Tasha a lot and recognizes her face after a long time. Adding on, Becca feels like there is something that he is hiding about Tasha when they talk together. This makes me feel suspicious about if he is the killer.

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One thing that was similar between me and Tasha is that both of us feel like there are times we are trapped in darkness. We feel like we can't do anything, or talk to anyone. Sometimes, we feel like there is no one for us to even listen to. And to both of us, the feeling is BAD.

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In this book, one thing that I couldn't relate to was how Tasha describes her parents and her womanhood as "trying to be the best one, even out of your friends". This is definitely not the same for me. I think becoming older and more mature means understanding other people's ideas and learning from your peers. Unlike Natasha, I feel like too much competition with the people you love won't bring you any good.

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Minutes Read: 35
Pages read: 35
How I felt: The book wasn't that interesting in this point of time, so I had a lot of trouble focusing on the book. However, I did read the number of pages I was supposed to, so I basically did read a good amount.
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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Minutes Read: 30
Pages read: 35
How I felt: I feel like this story didn't go into the actual plot yet, so reading it was pretty boring today. However, I enjoyed how the author changed the way the story was written in every chapter.
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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Minutes read: 30
Pages read: 40
How I felt: After finishing The Selection book 1, this book was definitely a different concept. While reading today, I felt interested in learning more about the characters, although I did look at the time a lot to see how much more I have to read.
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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Date started: 11/26
Date finished: 12-8-2021

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Goal 2 - Reading 30 pages every 30 minutes

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Goal 2 - Reading 30 pages every 30 minutes

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My first goal was to stay focused for 20 minutes. I was able to fulfill that goal, but I wanted to try something different. I want to make this goal so I can read multiple books through the year and keep a good pace with my book.

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Minutes Read: 25 minutes
Pages: 30
How I felt: As I was reading The Selection, I wasn't super into the book like other novels I have read. I think it had a good plot line, so I was interested in the story while reading.

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Date started: 11/25

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"The mother's feet, plump and polite"(pg. 40)

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"The mother's feet, plump and polite"(pg. 40)

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This is personification because it describes feet as polite, and feet can't actually be polite. This shows that the mother's feet are very stereotypical as mother's feet. The author probably wanted to describe the mother in another way.

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One thing that I found similar between me and Esperanza is that both of us can express ourselves and be free throughout some form of art. For her, it's writing, while for me, it is dancing. Both of us can express our sadness, happiness, and liveliness through the things we love.

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“Everything is waiting to explode like Christmas” (p.73)

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“Everything is waiting to explode like Christmas” (p.73)

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Word: Christmas
Denotation: the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church
Connotation: happiness, bright lights, jolly, etc.
The mood that this portrays is positive because Christmas has a joyful, happy tone to it. The author added this to show that Esperanza just wants everything to be the way she wants it, for her to be happy. This doesn't add much detail to the story, but it emphasizes Esperanza's feelings at this point in time.

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This piece of figurative language was found in the vignette born bad, and it is a simile. This is because the sentence compares bones to worms using as. This is effective because it adds more description to the state of Aunt Lupe. It also makes the reader aware that Aunt Lupe isn't as she used to be.

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Explain what Esperanza means based on the following section: “Not this way, every evening talking to the trees, learning out my window, imagining what I can’t see” (p. 73).  

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Explain what Esperanza means based on the following section: “Not this way, every evening talking to the trees, learning out my window, imagining what I can’t see” (p. 73).  

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I can tell that Esperanza wants to be something more than she is, she wants to do more than just dream about the future and what CAN happen. She doesn't want to just learn things, she wants to experience them. She wants someone to understand her and help her, too.

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Based on the following section, compare Lois and Esperanza: “She’s got big girl hands, and her bones are long like ladies’ bones, and she wears makeup too. But she doesn’t know how to tie her shoes. I do” (p. 73). 

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Based on the following section, compare Lois and Esperanza: “She’s got big girl hands, and her bones are long like ladies’ bones, and she wears makeup too. But she doesn’t know how to tie her shoes. I do” (p. 73). 

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I think this shows that Lois is way more attractive and elegant than Esperanza, but Esperanza is smarter. This is because the author describes Lois as a pretty, lady-like model while Esperanza is portrayed as someone who can tie their shoes. This is important because it shows that Esperanza is jealous of Lois.

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When Esperanza asks about a house, the witch lady says, “Ah, yes, a home in the heart. I see a home in the heart” (p. 64). Explain what you believe this means. 

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When Esperanza asks about a house, the witch lady says, “Ah, yes, a home in the heart. I see a home in the heart” (p. 64). Explain what you believe this means. 

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I think that this phrase means that Esperanza needs to see the true home in her heart. I think she is saying that Esperanza isn't going to get what she wants, but something that will make her more thankful for what she has.

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The witch lady sees jealousy and sorrow in Esperanza’s cards. Why do you think these showed up for Esperanza fortune?

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The witch lady sees jealousy and sorrow in Esperanza’s cards. Why do you think these showed up for Esperanza fortune?

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I think that the witch lady sees jealousy and sorrow in Esperanza's cards because in this part of the book, Esperanza keeps wanting what is really hard or even impossible to get, like a place at the canteen. This shows that she is jealous of other's that have more opportunities, and she feels sorry for herself because of it.

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A goal that I want to accomplish is exercising and keeping myself healthy. I am my own inspiration for this goal, because I know what I am capable of and I want to keep at it and reach for the stars. I will fulfill this goal by keeping myself physically and mentally active.

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A global goal I have is to stop climate change, because sooner or later, all of us are going to get affected in some way. I got inspired by reading books, articles, and more because they tell us fictions and facts about how the world can be affected by this storm. I will achieve my goal by being mindful about this Earth and by learning more and more about the nature around us.

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Another goal that I have is to stay connected with my family, even if I can't see them often. My parents are definitely what inspired me in this goal. This is because they talk to their parents, who are more than half a continent away, every single day, sometimes twice a day. They show me that true content is where family lies. Because of this, I want to stay connected to the people close to my heart. I will do this by calling my relative as frequent as possible, and by practicing the other language that I speak. This way, my roots will be with me.

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My dream is to continue dancing(bharatnatyam) in the years to come and to keep getting better at it. My dance teacher has inspired this dream, because even after dancing for 9 years now, she tells me to keep going and that I can get better and better at what I do. I will accomplish my dream by practicing more and more in what I do and continuing my passion for years to come.

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“Uh-oh, Nenny. Better get the broom. Too much trash in our yard today” (p. 37). 

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“Uh-oh, Nenny. Better get the broom. Too much trash in our yard today” (p. 37). 

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Word: Trash
Denotation: discarded matter; refuse
Connotation: Rude, ungrateful, not belonging, not supportive, unwanted
The mood that this portrays is negative because it shows that Esperanza really is mad at her friends Lucy and Rachel. The author added this to show how unwanted Lucy and Rachel are to Esperanza at that time. This doesn't add more detail to the story, but it concludes the vignette with a sharp ending.

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One thing that I found similar between me and Esperanza was our relationship to our family in the vignette "And some more". In this vignette, Lucy criticizes Esperanza's mother and she gets really mad. Even if Esperanza isn't that connected to her family and feels like they arde holding her back, she DOES support them and care for them, which I can relate to. Sure, I get into fights with my parents and brother, but in the end, I do stand up for them.

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"There are a million zillion kinds, says Nenny"(Mango Street, p. )

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"There are a million zillion kinds, says Nenny"(Mango Street, p. )

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This is an example of a hyperbole in the text because there aren't actually a "million zillion" kinds of snowflakes. Nenny probably said this because she wanted to make an exaggeration about how many snowflakes were in the sky. She thought that it was such a high number. I can infer that the author wanted to use this to show the reader how Nenny imagined snowflakes and to make it seem like such a huge amount.

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"sky can keep you safe when you are sad"(Mango Street, p. )

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"sky can keep you safe when you are sad"(Mango Street, p. )

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This piece of figurative language is personification. This is because the sky, an inanimate object, can't keep you safe from sadness, because that is a human characteristic. The author probably used this to show us that the sky is a calming place of well-being. I can also infer that this sets the scene to Darius's personality because it shows that he has a totally different personality than the one who is "mostly a fool".

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"like fancy museum vases you can't replace"(Mango Street, p. )

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"like fancy museum vases you can't replace"(Mango Street, p. )

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This is a simile because the author compares kids to fancy vases using like.The author probably wanted to use this to show how disrespectful and immature Rosa Vargas' kids were. When the author says that they break things that are not replaceable, we can se that they have no dignity for anything or anyone. Because of this simile, we can picture how the kids were in the story and it can help us understand the hopelessness of Rosa Vargas.

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Is the name ­calling serious, meant to hurt each other's feelings, or is it just joking? Explain your opinion and use evidence.

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Is the name ­calling serious, meant to hurt each other's feelings, or is it just joking? Explain your opinion and use evidence.

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I think that the name-calling was mostly a joke at the start, and then it started getting into the state where people got hurt from it. This is because at the start, they were just talking about how their "face looked ugly" and other things like that. After Rachel insulted Esperanza's mother, things got really ugly. Esperanza started getting mad, and things just got downhill from there.

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Clouds have spiritual implications and meanings for Esperanza. How do the changing clouds represent the girls’ behavior in this chapter?

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Clouds have spiritual implications and meanings for Esperanza. How do the changing clouds represent the girls’ behavior in this chapter?

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The changing clouds definitely represents the girls' behavior in this chapter. This is because as the clouds start getting bigger, grayer, or even uglier, so does the conversation between Esperanza and Lucy/Rachel. In the text it says, "Cumulus are cute... clouds that look like big fields of sheep... your fat face...Esperanza's ugly face... foot fleas..." As you can see from the text, as the clouds turn from cute cumulus to stormy nimbus, so do the feelings that are portrayed throughout the vignette. Everyone starts getting irritated, and their behavior starts to slowly become worse.

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Something that me and Esperanza have in common is wanting to have a role model or example. In the story, it looks like Esperanza really loves Marin being there for her in every step she takes. I feel the same way because I think that if there is someone for me, I can do things much easier. however, sometimes I want to be a little less dependent with everything, which is not portrayed in the story.

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"They are wearing shiny Sunday shoes without socks"(Mango Street, p. 15)

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"They are wearing shiny Sunday shoes without socks"(Mango Street, p. 15)

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Word: Sunday
Denotation: Shoes that you would wear on Sunday, which is a day of the week
Connotation: I think this refers to the best pair of shows a person owns. This is because the Sunday shoes were referred to as shiny and usually, people wear nice shoes when they go to the church.
I think that this portrays a negative mood because describing pretty shoes with NO socks sounds like it is not proper.
The author used this word to show the mismatch of Lucy/Rachel's shoes and maybe even how poor they are. You would think that they have good shoes, but the socks tell you otherwise. This adds more detail to the description of Lucy and Rachel. We learn and understand more of who they are.

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"Their clothes are crooked and old"(Mango Street, p. 14)

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"Their clothes are crooked and old"(Mango Street, p. 14)

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Word: Crooked
Denotation: bent or twisted out of shape or out of place
Connotation: Mismatched, out-of-order, not very high quality
The mood that this portrays is negative because it describes something that doesn't quite fit, or looks ugly, which definitely makes the phrase have a disgusted tone to it.
The author added this because it shows the poor state of Rachel and Lucy. It shows that their clothes aren't proper which makes us feel sympathy for them. This, again, adds more detail to the story itself and the author added it to make the description more interesting.

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"all lopsided and jutting like crooked teeth"(Mango Street, 22)

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"all lopsided and jutting like crooked teeth"(Mango Street, 22)

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This is another simile found in the story because the author is comparing stairs to teeth using like. The author probably added this so that we can visualize the wild condition of the home. She wanted to make us aware that this was not a normal house. This also relates to the personality of Meme Ortiz.

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"It's like all of a sudden he let go a million moths all over the dusty furniture"(Mango Street, p. 20)

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"It's like all of a sudden he let go a million moths all over the dusty furniture"(Mango Street, p. 20)

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This would be mostly a simile, because the author is comparing a sound to moths on the furniture using like. However, I also see this as a hyperbole because there weren't actually a million moths, it was an exaggeration. Either way, the author is trying to show the extreme loudness of terrible music playing in the store. I know this because of the animal that the author uses(moths), and the way she describes the furniture(dusty). This adds a negative effect to the story but the author included this so you can truly picture what the music sounded like.

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"two green apples you call eyes"(Mango Street, 27)

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"two green apples you call eyes"(Mango Street, 27)

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This form of figurative language would be considered a metaphor because the author is comparing apples to eyes without using like or as. The author includes this because it describes how pretty Marin is without directly stating that. Saying that someone has apples for eyes is stating that they look beautiful, so the author included this for us to visualize Marin's eyes.

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FORMAT - "Sentence from the story"(Mango Street, p. #)

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FORMAT - "Sentence from the story"(Mango Street, p. #)

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What type of figurative language is the author using? Explain how you know this.
Why is it effective? Why did the author include this piece of figurative language? What does it help you picture of understand?

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“windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath.”(Cisneros, 4)

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“windows so small you'd think they were holding their breath.”(Cisneros, 4)

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I can tell that the author is using personification because personification is when an inanimate object gets human characteristics. In this case, the windows are holding their breath, which windows can’t really do. The author is using personification.
This is effective because you think about tiny little windows that you can’t really see anything out of. It makes me picture tiny things, and I can tell that it is what the author wants.

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FORMAT - "Sentence from the story"(Mango Street, p. #)

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FORMAT - "Sentence from the story"(Mango Street, p. #)

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Denotation:
Connotation:
What mood or feeling is shown in this phrase: Positive? Negative?
Why did the author use this phrase or word? What did it add to the story? What do we learn?

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“As if she were a fancy chandelier” (Mango Street, p. 11) 

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“As if she were a fancy chandelier” (Mango Street, p. 11) 

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Denotation- a decorative hanging light with branches for several light bulbs or candles.
Connotation- valuable, elegant, delicate, expensive, desirable
Using the word chandelier adds a positive and sophisticated mood to this section of the story.
The author used the phrase fancy chandelier so we can learn how Esperanza's great-grandfather views her great-grandmother. We learn that he loved her and really wanted to marry her. He values her and sees her as a delicate, elegant, desirable woman. The message would have been significantly different if the author said, “As if she were a sack of potatoes.”

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Something that I can't relate to is the setting of Esperanza's home. She lives in the city and has to move around a lot, which is the opposite for me. I live in the suburbs and don't experience much of what she is going through. Also, she tells us that she can't really afford a big house. This is different for me because I have a pretty big

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The 4th vignette talks about Esperanza's name, and she says how in Spanish it is a "muddy" name. She talks about how no one can pronounce it in school, and as she expresses these feelings, I can see that she really doesn't like her name. This is really the opposite for me, because I love how my name means "brightness" and "hope".

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I found another similarity between me and Esperanza on the 3rd vignette. Esperanza talks about how someday, she will have a best friend that she will tell every secret to. I have the same hope. Even though I have many friends that are fun to hang out with and talk to, I don't really have someone that I can truly understand. Both of us really want to find someone that we can tell everything to, that can relate to us in so many ways.

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One thing that I found similar between me and Esperanza is the feeling of being around our mothers. When she writes about it, I can clearly see how calm and relaxed she feels. I can relate to that because doing things with my mom is also very nice. I find that sense of peace when I am around her or just on the couch with her.

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Date started: October 13th, 2021
Couldn't finish this book

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The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

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The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

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Date started: 10/15/21 as a class

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The last way that Sam develops throughout the beginning to the end of the story is her personality. Her personality includes her ability to make friends, her determination, and her individuality. At the start of the story, we saw that Sam ALWAYS stuck with her friend Reagan and did everything with her. She didn't have any plans where only she was included and the author gave hints about her vulnerability. However, at the end of the book, after she starts to learn her ways without Reagan, she becomes a stronger person. She is not afraid to speak up by herself, and makes new friends. She doesn't quit easily, and she has clarity about herself because of the way she acts/talks to others.

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Something else that I could not relate to with Cadence was how strict, mean, and just plain rich her mom is. Penny, Cady's mom, expects Cady to do anything to get the fortune of her grandfather. She forces her to do things that causes her pain and grief, and I can't relate to this AT ALL. The biggest extent my parents had gone to with this type of thing is telling/scolding me to get better grades. However, I really know that Cady feels so frustrated by having to do all of what she doesn't want.

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Something that I can't relate to in We were Liars was Cady's deep admiration and love to someone who betrayed her. Gat, Cady's boyfriend, once left her because he was scared to be in a relationship with her and later said that he was "sorry". I would never love something/someone if they stab me in the back, because I don't understand how that will benefit me. However, I do understand the "true love" that Cadence is facing.

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Mirror - The Space between Lost and Found

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Mirror - The Space between Lost and Found

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One thing that I saw in the personality of Cassie that I can relate to is her straightforward-ness. Let me explain what I mean. In the story, Cassie says that she likes math out of all subjects because in math, there is always just one answer. You think, you write, you solve. Boom. This tells me that she is the type of person that always wants a straightforward answer in anything she does, which is like me, too. Usually, I don't like pondering things for a long time and thinking about what the answer can be, but both me and Cassie have to learn that life isn't a math problem. There is more to it than x=2.

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I found another piece of great detail that tells the reader now Sam changed from the beginning to the end of the story. Her will power changed DRASTICALLY when it comes to helping her new friend, Kevin. In this story, the author portrays the geometry teacher as a mean old man that just will NOT leave Kevin alone. At the start of the book, we can clearly see that no one is doing anything about it. Mr. Pratt asked Kevin a question, Kevin stayed silent, Kevin got detention. Over and over again. And Sam was just thinking, Oh, I do miss Reagan. At the end of the story, I can see that Sam gains confidence in herself and steps up by planning a "silent protest" to stop Mr. Pratt from bullying Kevin. Once Sam understands the importance of being there for a friend, she really shows her true colors; in the good way.

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I found something else in the story that tells me how Sam changes as a person from the beginning to the end of the story. It is Sam's will to continue her favorite activities. In the beginning of the story right after Reagan died, Sam just wanted to go into a whole and disappear. She didn't go to school, speak with friends, or have any kind of "fun". In the middle of the book, I could see that she improved a little, but she still didn't join basketball(which she LOVES) and start doing other activities. Nearing the end of the book, Sam makes new friends. She has new hobbies and passions. She starts to play basketball, starts becoming healthy again. And this time, even if she knows that Reagan isn't coming back, Sam knows that SHE DIDN'T DIE. She still has a life to live. Even if that means hanging on to small, cute memories.

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One interesting topic that is present in Fadeaway by Maura Ellen Stokes is the topic of grief. I learned so much about this topic after reading this book. I understood that it is VERY important to let go of people, even if you don't want to, and hang on to their memories. I still want to know how people can fully distract themselves from a loss that they experienced. This topic was fully impacted in my story because it is what the whole book is about. In my story, all that Sam is trying to do is cope with her friend's death, so grief is definitely playing a part there.

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Minutes Read: 40 minutes
Pages: 72 pages
How I felt: Like reading The Space between Lost and Found, reading this book today was not very exciting. I tended to zone out many times and I repeated reading a few paragraphs multiple times. This shows that I wasn't in much of a reading book and/or I don't like this book much.
Did I meet my goal: No
*Side note: Even if I met my goal three times, I am not changing it because I am not very concise with meeting it.*

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One thing that I saw that was similar between me and Sam was the sense of thrill and happiness she gets when being on the basketball court. Of course, I don't feel very excited when playing basketball because I am not good at it at all, but sometimes, I understand the exciting feeling of doing something you love. Even if long-distance running isn't my thing, sprinting to the finish line really makes me feel how Sam was feeling in the book.

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There is another scene that gives my the same development vibe; when Reagan left Sam. In the beginning of the story when Reagan said bye to Sam and she will come later, Sam said that she "felt incredibly alone without Reagan." However, later in the story, the book says that when Reagan left her for the last time, Sam knew that "it was time" to let go. This is a valuable thing to understanding the story because it emphasizes the importance of moving forward with life, and that is the overall theme of the book.

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The main character in my book, Sam, has a few different conflicts in the story, but one main conflict. She faces the problem of grief as the main one. After Sam has lost her best friend Reagan, she faces such a hard time at school, home, and even thinks that the ghost of Reagan is still there. Other conflicts include getting one the basketball team, getting good grades(especially in her geometry class), and getting closer to her new friend Kevin. These conflicts affect the character because it makes Sam stronger and braver when the conflict is resolved. Sam makes new connections with people, things, and places in general. She realizes that she still has to keep going through tough times. This also makes the plot of the story more engaging and fun to read. If the plot just focuses on 1 main conflict, the readers won't be that engaged in learning about Sam's life. So, the main conflict in my story is Sam dealing with the grief of her best friend, although there are many more.

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The first thing that I found in the book that was similar between me and the main character, Cady, is the sense of belonging to a group. What I mean is that sometimes, Cady feels like her boyfriend is so close to her, but then all of a sudden, just leaves her hanging. I feel the exact way sometimes, but instead of a boyfriend, I feel like that to my friends. However, Cady also has really strong feelings about this which is why this is also different.

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One way that Sam develops from the beginning to the end of the story is how she changes her grief from a good thing to a bad thing. I am not saying that her friend dying is good, but Sam changes the way she perceives this emotion. In the beginning of the story, the author explains Sam as a griever, someone who cries all the time, someone who is never going to be okay again. However, in the end of the story, Sam understands the value of letting go. She knows that someday, she will see Reagan again and just has to move forward. That's why in the last page of the book, the author writes, "I smiled, thinking of Reagan."

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In Fadeaway by Maura Ellen Stokes, the author uses many different kinds of literary devices and other techniques to portray what she needs to show. Since Sam is an am amazing basketball player, Stokes highlights the way she plays by using small, descriptive sentences to lead and lead and lead until the big boom. Dialogue plays a huge role in the story as well, because that is the primary way Sam and Reagan communicate with each other. Dialogue helps the reader understand the emotions being passed from character to character. Lastly, I feel like the author has done a great job in portraying the protagonist's emotions. She uses the hyperbole to demonstrate the feelings.

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Minutes read: 30
Pages: 53
How I felt: Today, I started a new book called We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. In the beginning of the book, I was a little annoyed by the setting of the book, so it was hard for me to focus. However, I only stopped reading to take a break 25 minutes after I started, so that is an improvement for me. Another thing that I noticed was that I was able to fly through the pages of this new book than the book that I just finished.
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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Window: The Space between Lost and Found

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Window: The Space between Lost and Found

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One thing in the book that I could not relate to was what Cassie's(main character) mom was facing. One day she is completely fine and then in two months she forgets the name of her own daughter? Even though this is SO hard to relate to, I can definitely understand what Cassie is going through. I can never imagine being so close and distant to my mom at the same time.

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Another way that Sam developed in the story is her interaction with another character in the book. In the beginning of the story, a classmate named Kevin wanted to help Sam look for something that Sam deeply cared about. After finding it, Kevin admits that he and Reagan have known each other from a really long time. This makes Sam mad, and Sam, thinking that Kevin has been being nice to her just because of Reagan, stops talking to Kevin in every way. Later, at the end of the book, she stand up for Kevin, knowing that he really didn't do anything wrong. This scene answers my annotation question because I can tell that Sam has become a totally different person in her relationship with a character. Not only did she change her way of thinking about the character, her personality grew kinder and more well-deserved. Also, in this part of the story, she senses pride in herself, which has never yet happened throughout the book. Based off of this, I understood exactly how the character changed from the beginning to the end of the book.

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Minutes read: 30
Pages: 100-110
How I felt: I finished the book The Space between Lost and Found. It was not one of those books that really made a great ending, and it is NOT one of my favorite books. However, while I was reading, I didn't get diverted once this time. I think being in a noisier place(in my home, the windows were open so there were noises) actually helps me because I kind of get annoyed by the quietness.
Did I meet my goal: Yes

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In the book Fadeaway by Maura Ellen Stokes, I think that the theme of the book is that it is essential to let go of some things at times. This is because throughout the story, Sam talks to her imaginary dead friend, who she used to spend every inch of the day with. When Reagan finally dies, Sam starts talking to her imaginably. Little does she know that it is hurting her so much. In the book it says things like "My eyes flooded"(163), "I wailed...wailed"(18), and "And I couldn't stop crying"(18). All of these pieces of text shows us that it is terribly hard for Sam to let go. However, when she does let go of her best friend, the results are promising. In the text it says, "I also knew that I had to say good-bye... I smiled, thinking of Reagan."(287/289) I don't know if you observed, but I definitely saw a difference between before Reagan left and after. Now, when Sam thought about Reagan, she felt happy. And that shows that the theme of the book Fadeaway is that you have to let go of some things.

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Minutes: 27
Pages: 32
How I felt: While I was reading this period, I felt a lot better than how I felt yesterday while reading. This is because I saw a LOT of bravery in the main character while I was reading. Cassie was willing to risk a severe punishment just to make her mom happy. It made the book way more climatic, and I was able to stay focused for most of the whole time we read.
Did I meet my goal: No

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In the beginning of the story, Sam always relied on her friend Reagan for everything; play, work, rest, etc. However, she develops a lot because at the end of the story, they say that she writes a geometry test with such confidence. I know that this isn't a lot, but I can tell that to her it is. This is because Sam has been failing her math tests with the sickening grief of Reagan. Studying for a geometry test and acing it really means a lot to me as a reader and her as the narrator.

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The Space between Lost and Found by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

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The Space between Lost and Found by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

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I am done with this book, and my rating is a 4/5 stars. I really liked this book because of the main idea; losing someone. Of course, no one likes for a loved one to go away, but what I mean is that the author conveyed the message of grief in a very appealing manner. I just don't like the type of conversation that the main character and her dead friend have sometimes. I wish they would talk about more important things, but I get that it is not their style. I would recommend this book to anyone who has patience to get to the good stuff at the end and is also fine with reading slow books. As you can infer, this book does not have much action but has tons of emotion. So, if you are interested in learning about a sad, powerful story about two best friends, I think this book is for you.

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Event: Sam finally says goodbye to her dead friend Reagan.
Reflection: This is my favorite event of the book because of how upsetting it was to read it.  The way the author captures the feeling of grief that Sam faces was definitely catchy. At this point in time, I read that section over and over again to feel what the protagonist is facing. Even though I can't relate to this section, I learned that it is hard to let go of some things.