# data[].attributes.body
Before this year, I never really read outside of class or anytime other than when I had to for English I. I honestly resented reading and thought it was the most boring activity in the world… until Ms. Terry’s English II class. I started finding books that I enjoyed and genuinely caught my attention. I found myself picking up books at home and reading and getting super into them. I’m proud of myself for finishing my 1st book since 3rd grade this year because I usually abandon books faster than the speed of light. I really enjoyed that we got to pick our own books instead of being forced to read something boring like The Odyssey (no shade to Mrs. Peel). I honestly didn’t dislike anything about choice reading because I picked out books that I liked. I felt like I have made huge progress as a reader since the beginning of the year, I’ve started reading as an activity or pass time instead of only reading when I had too. Writing wise I feel like I’ve grown some but not as significantly as I have in reading. I think that the quick writes and free writes ended up helping me when we had a FRQ or Timed write in class. It made me have to think and write quickly about what I was analyzing or writing a prompt over, and that’s when I noticed all the writing warmups came in handy. I personally enjoyed your class this year and I don’t have any suggestions for what you should do or start doing next year because I already liked everything we did this year. Thanks for being such a great teacher Ms. Terry!

# data[].attributes.body
In The Hate U Give, Starr has started to speak more publically about Khalil’s death but only because her guilt pressured her into it. She recently went on TV but as an anonymous source but her boyfriend Chris found out it was her. Basically her being anonymous caused a bunch of drama in her friend group. If I were Starr, I definitely wouldn’t have told my friends that I was involved in the situation for quite a while I don’t think Starr was in the wrong but I do think that some of her friends should be more understanding. Something that I don’t agree with is that her friend Hailey has started getting super snobby and rude to Starr and Maya. Starr mentioned before that Hailey has always kind of been  the “ring leader” of the group and they have subconsciously let some of the rude things she’s said in the past get by, but are now coming to their senses and calling her out for being a bad friend. I admire Starr’s friendship with Maya and how they stick up for themselves for once and don’t give into Hailey’s manipulation. I kind of relate to Maya In her situation where Hailey had mentioned some racial things to her and she wasn’t quite sure how to react. Unfortunately racial comments are made on a daily bases and people laugh because they think that’s what you’re supposed to do even if it does hurt your feelings. Basically that part of the book has  in a way inspired me to say something if anyone ever has any stereotypical comments.

# data[].attributes.headline
11th blog ( i'm back on my grind Ms. Terry not gonna miss another one !?!?! )

# data[].attributes.subject
11th blog ( i'm back on my grind Ms. Terry not gonna miss another one !?!?! )

# data[].attributes.body
Ok so I’m getting pretty close to the ending of “The Upside of Unrequited” AND LET ME TELL YOUUUUUUUUU, I was not expecting any of this. Romance books… usually not my forte but oh my goodness this one has me on the edge of me seat, and I can’t seem to put it down. Basically today in class during our 15 minutes of reading I got to a pretty dramatic fight scene at a party and I was so shook. Never did I EVER expect Cassie and Molly to get into an argument publically but that’s not even the best part. I think the author is a genius and that is quite the compliment coming from me because I could possibly be the pickiest reader to walk the earth. I honestly think that this book is capable of one upping my favorite book “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Ned Vizzini but it really depends on the ending. As of right now the part in the book I can relate to the most is when Molly is talking about her insecurities boy wise and what other people’s opinions are on the boy she likes. For instance, Mina, Cassie’s girlfriend knows Reid AKA Molly’s most recent crush; Mina has negative commentary on Reid’s shoes and how she thinks he looks weird and Molly gets naturally insecure about it even though they aren’t even his shoes. From that point on she worries about little dumb things like that even though she doesn’t personally care about them, it’s the fact that other people care. I think she has a natural desire to stand up from Reid or defend him because she likes him so much which is relatable. It’s kind of like when you tell your friend you like so and so and then they say something along the lines of “Ew omg you like *to whom it may concern* that’s so gross he/she isn’t even cute” OUCH. Tough blow. Anyways that’s about it to wrap It up for this week’s blog.

# data[].attributes.body
About a week ago I started a new book called "The Upside of unrequited" by Becky Albertalli. This book is a little different than most books I read because the protagonist is female and I usually read books with males as the main characters. What I like about this book, is that the author uses a lot of dialogue so it's kind of like listening into a bunch of juicy teen drama. I also think that the author has a pretty good sense of humor and that's the main reason I enjoy reading it. A way this book is similar to my usual reading style, is that the main character has a chronic issue throughout the book, and the book ( at least so far) is about how the main character get's over it and faces their issues. I tend to lean towards books where characters face more "serious" issues in a sense like mental health, as to where this book is about a more relatable issue... the lack of love life in Molly's world, but the more I read I keep convincing myself that i'm more like Molly than Molly is like herself. For example; Molly has a bunch of super hot friends that are none the less AMAZING at working their super hot girl smooth talk on boy's but Molly, um yeah not so much. She's like the DUFF (designated ugly fat friend) of her friend group, there to simply to make all her already hot friends, EVEN HOTTER. Ugh it's like they're rubbing it in her face like she doesn't already know it herself. The thing is, her friends didn't necessarily declare her the duff it's more like she labeled herself queen at a pity party she threw. Which is definitely a Sakura thing to do. Molly is me, and I am Molly, and ALL my friends are equivalent to all of her friends. It's like Becky Albertalli ( the author ) has secretly been spying on me since the 7th grade, wrote a book about me and just switched out the names so she wouldn't throw me under the bus to the entire world.

# data[].attributes.body
The current events going on in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” right now are getting fairly interesting. Junior is still tilted as an outcast to the rest of his reservation since he moved to Reardan High School, and his family gets hate for it as well. Things are going pretty good for junior so far at his new school and he’s definitely made a handful of new friends. He ended up taking his dream girl Penelope to a formal dance, and wowing her with his dad’s dusty old suit since he couldn’t afford a new one. Junior being the only Indian kid at this school naturally has lower self-confidence and feels like and outcast, but dating the popular girl Penelope definitely scored him major respect points. The only problem with dating a rich, preppy, popular white girl, is that is appears that Junior would too be rich as well… And surprise! He’s not even close. He tries to pretend he has money for a while but eventually his friends find out and he feels a bit embarrassed, but grateful that all his new friends are willing to help  him out a with little things like driving him home, or paying for a meal. Junior has sincerely been bonding with his new friends and expanding his social life beyond his ex- best friend Rowdy. His new friends encourage him to do new things and get out more which is having a positive effect on him in my opinion, until he joins the basketball team of course. Reardan High school and junior’s old school go head to head in a basketball game and the entire gym is filled with Indians from his Reservation booing and throwing stuff at him. Again his new friends stand up for him and I think that the relationships he has built while at this new school have taught him many lessons about people and will teach him man more throughout the rest of the book.

# data[].attributes.body
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior just moved to an all-white school, Reardan. When he gets to the school he feels very out of place and almost invisible. All the other children at Reardan are very privileged and come from a wealthier neighborhood than Junior. I think in a sense this makes Junior feel insecure and afraid to be the only Indian boy that attends this school. I think being poor at the reservation was a normal thing for Junior and his friends, and he never really thought anything of it until he met all these new people with money. Of course being a male, I think he doesn’t want to show his real emotions and tries to cover it up by being someone he’s not. Moving to this new school forced Junior to make a lot of sacrifices with money, time management, and friendships. Losing his best friend meant letting go of the constant feeling of protection, because Rowdy always defended him in time of need. This makes him feel small, vulnerable and weak. Kids are picking on him at school and using a bunch of racist slander. I think Junior was afraid to stand up for himself in fear that it would only make the name calling worse and maybe even result in a fistfight. Ironically Junior ended up starting a fist fight with his bully Rodger and surprisingly won. He gains respect from his bully and his posy and believes that this is truly a turning moment for him at his new school. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. He started acting like someone he’s not and telling a bunch of little lies about himself to appear “cooler”.  I think that Junior is changing and definitely not for the better, I think soon in the book he’s going to have an identity crisis of some sort because of how badly he wants to fit in.

# data[].attributes.body
In this week’s blog post, I’m going to talk about how I felt about the ending of the book Speak because I recently finished it, and I’m also going to talk a little bit about the new book I started as well. Throughout the entire book Speak, I found myself really struggling to stay interested let alone get interested at all. I felt that it took far too long for me to really get to understand and connect with the character which made me dislike the book. I was really considering abandoning the book but I was super close to finishing so I challenged myself to push through the boringness just a little longer. I do admire that she finally stood up for herself at the end and fought back. The new book I started on the other hand is way more intriguing. I’m reading “I know I am, but what are you?” by Samantha Bee. At first I was a little confused as to what was going on but once I figured out what she was talking about it was pretty funny. I think that I’m enjoying this book a lot better than Speak because it’s more relatable and comedic rather than a serious and sensitive tone like Speak. The book is basically about Samantha and her crazy family and life experiences. The layout of the book is kind of chaotic and all over the place but I like it. This is the first biography I’ve read because I wanted to try something new, and I’m glad I picked this one to be my first!

# data[].attributes.body
I started a new book this week, I picked up Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I first originally picked up this book in 8th grade but abandoned it pretty quick. I knew what the basic plot I was just found myself struggling to get into it. I absolutely hate books that start off slow. In comparison to my other book, this book starts out very stale.

It’s lame.

I’ve gotten to about the first hundred pages and some parts are interesting I’m just not intrigued overall. I’d have to say the most interesting part of this book so far is Melinda’s math teacher. In my opinion he seems like he has more personality than the entire book itself. Although I’m not head over heels for this book so far, I don’t want to abandon it again because that would absolutely drive me insane. Certain aspects of this book has semi interested me but only the relatable parts, like when she starts to build a little fort in the schools old janitors closet. I do feel like something juicy is going to happen pretty soon because Mel keeps referring to “IT”. Since I know the basic plot of this book I know that when she says “IT” she I stalking about the boy who assaulted her. My main goal for this book, is to stick with it and finish it soon so I can move onto the next.

# data[].attributes.body
In this week’s blog post, I am going to be talking about what I think is going to happen next in my book. I am getting to the point where I only have about one hundred pages left so my brain is starting to come up with endless possibilities of how I think the book is going to end. Currently Craig is still in the adult psychiatric hospital and it’s his third day. He’s met up with this girl Noelle and they seem to like each other. She’s more distant and Craig seems more intrigued by her… probably because he doesn’t normally talk to girls. He’s also spoke to his friends Nia, and Aaron on the phone as well as the principle of Pre-Professional Academy, the high school Craig attends. I think that in these last one hundred pages or so, Craig will start talking to Noelle more nut get out of the hospital before her, Figure things out with Aaron, and Nia because the last time they spoke they got into an argument, and I think that Craig will drop out of Pre-Professional Academy to help eliminate some of his stress. Craig’s Physiatrist Dr. Minerva, had visited him in Six North and says that he should  be in and out in no time if he continues to progress without any distraction. I feel like he will go through another hard time before he gets out and that something might happen to disturb his recovery. The thing about Craig is that although he isn’t good at making friends outside of Six North, he’s had absolutely no trouble making friends at the hospital. I think that he might be getting a little too close to some of these people and will be sad when he leaves the hospital for good.

# data[].attributes.body
In This week’s blog post I am going to be talking about Craig’s new environment in the hospital and all the new people he has met. In North Six, (the part of the hospital Craig is staying in.) there are a lot of different characters. Since he is staying with the adults because the teen metal health ward was full I feel as if Craig is kind of intimidated in a sense by all the older individuals. When he meets all the other people in the ward he notices that he’s in a much better situation compared to everyone else and starts to really think about everything he has to be thankful for. He takes his new mentality and tries to think about that when he finds himself struggling to eat or sleep. He’s showing really good progression as of right now and his new acquaintances think he’ll be in and out of there in no time. Other’s in the ward think Craig is a “yuppie”. A yuppie is someone who has it really easy compared to everyone else and has lots of money and pretty much has no business being in the ward. Craig is only close with Bobby and Humble. Bobby acts kind of like a mentor to Craig and shows him how everything works around North Six, and Humble is Craig’s new lunch “friend”. Humble kind of has a weird outlook on life and likes to be dominant in all situations. I think that Craig and Humble get a long really well because their mentalities are very similar and Craig follows instruction very well while Humble gives instruction. I think that Craig’s new friends are going to be a big part of his recovery and is really good for him.

# data[].attributes.body
This week in my blog post I am just going to give an update on my book. In last week’s blog post I talked about Craig’s personality and characterization and I wanted to expand on that. As you know Craig was dealing with suicidal thoughts and depression. He even told one of his therapist that if he were to commit suicide, that he would jump off of the Brooklyn Bridge. Well since then Craig has decided to actually go through with it. His plan was to sneak out really early in the morning while it was still dark and just do it. On his way out he came across a book called “how to survive the loss of a love;” and it led him to the suicide hotline number. Instead of riding his bike to the Brooklyn Bridge that night he went to the emergency room. I think this shows that Craig really cares for his family and doesn’t want them to suffer if he were to commit suicide no matter how depressed he’s feeling. He admitted himself into the hospital, called his mom and accidentally admitted himself into adult psychiatric as well. Once Craig finds out what he did, he kind of freaks out and wants to leave. He knows he needs help but is very hesitant to get the actual care and attention that he needs. His mom on the other hand is ecstatic and proud of Craig for making the decisions that he did. She also feels a sense of failure as a mother because she wasn’t aware that Craig stopped taking his antidepressants or that he was actually contemplating suicide. I think that in this point of the book Craig is starting to grow as a character and that he’ll start to get better soon.

# data[].attributes.body
In my book, Craig Gliner is the main character. If I had to describe him in three words, those three words would be; Blunt, Jealous, and in a sense lost. The very first line of this book “It’s so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself.” Immediately gave met the impression that Craig has something serious going on. I learned that he has depression and has seen many therapist/ shrinks. He calls all his issues in life his “tentacles” and all the good things that helped him through his depression were his “anchors”. From the looks of it he has far more tentacles than anchors in his life. Craig seems to feel very stressed out all the time and has an issue of overthinking almost every situation. He’s falling behind at his new school, has trouble eating, sleeping, and even talking. In my opinion Craig’s depression seems to be consuming him and his every thought. A couple of things that kind of distracts Craig from his depression are drawing maps of Manhattan, hanging out with his friend Aaron Pardis, and peeing in the dark; he likes the simplicity of it, and how “freeing” it is. Him and his friend Aaron hang out every Friday and watch movies, and it seems to be one of Craig’s anchors. I’m pretty sure the only people who know about Craig’s depression are his family and therapist. Aaron is his best friend and likes hanging out with him but often finds himself jealous of Aaron and what he has. I think Craig is most jealous of Aaron and Nia’s relationship. Nia is Aaron’s girlfriend and Craig seems to have mixed emotions about if he wants her or if he wants girls to like him in genral. Overall Craig is very blunt about how he’s feeling but only to certain individuals, jealous, depressed, and at the moment he’s very hopeless.

# data[].attributes.body
The first book I picked out to read for this nine weeks is Its Kind Of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. I first found out about this book when we judged books by their cover and then proceed to read them but for only three minutes each. In those short three minutes I decided that I genuinely enjoyed what I read, which is very rare. If I’m going to be completely honest I haven’t read in a long time, and it’s not because I didn’t like reading it was that I could never find a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. After finding out about this book I looked into it a little more and read the blurb, and it seemed like a book I’d enjoy. I personally enjoy books where the main character goes through a very rough time but ends up overcoming their issues, or books where the main character has a disability. I personally like hearing the characters perspectives and views on situations that I don’t get to experience, for instance the book Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. The blurb of the book I picked really highlighted all the little details I like my books to have in them and I thought it would be the perfect book for me. I can confidently say that this book has made me appreciate reading more, and that it makes me want to read more. I also like this book because what it’s about is so relevant to things that could actually be happening around me that I don’t even realize. I these aspects in my books because it really opens my mind to think about what others might experience that I’m not even aware is happening.