https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y Reese made this en-us 2020-09-09 14:39:07 UTC 2023-05-12 15:57:57 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f332.png reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/738908965 In Renegades, there are two groups- the Anarchists and the Renegades. The Renegades are the "good guys"- they all have superpowers and they rid the world of crime (the Anarchists, gangs, thievery, etc.). The Anarchists feel that the Renegades have screwed them over and that they could make a better government, so they try to overthrow the government. They were started by Ace Anarchy, who happens to be the main character, Nova's, uncle. Nova has a pretty tragic past- a gang came to her house when she was a little girl and killed all her family- her mom, dad, and baby sister Evie. She had so much faith in the Renegades, but they let her down. So she joined her uncle, who she didn't know before her family died that he was Ace Anarchy. She becomes an Anarchist because she has the power of putting people to sleep. Fast forward ten years, Nova is 16. Her Anarchist name is Nightmare. She is trying to kill Captain Chromium, the president of the Renegades. Another Anarchist, Winston Pratt (the Puppeteer). A team of Renegades stops her- Adrian, Ruby, Danna, and Oscar. She retreats, but they catch Winston. The We find out more about the Renegades through Adrian's perspective. He is the adopted son of Captain Chromium and Dread Warden, another founding member of the Renegades. He and the other Renegades are talking about the Renegade trials that are about to happen. Then, the point of view changes to Nova's and we meet the Anarchists. There's Phobia, Ingrid, Leroy, Honey, and Nova. Leroy suggests that Nova should join the Renegades. She goes to the trials, and she gets in. Adrian takes her on a tour of the Renegdes HQ where she's stressed the entire time that they'll find out her secret.

This book kind of started out slow, but now it's starting to get really good. I want to know why all the characters chose the Anarchists. Or the Renegades. Do the Renegades know the Anarchists' motives? Or do they think they're just going around killing people for the fun of it? Does Nova become friends with Adrian? How do the Renegades get their powers? There's so much that I need to find out!]]> 2020-09-11 14:45:16 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/738908965 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/746460874 Renegades gets reeeeeeally good (that's why I finished it so fast). What happens in the majority of the book is that Nova joins the Renegades as a spy for the Anarchists. Her and Adrian have feelings for each other. Adrian also has a secret superhero identity, the Sentinal. He gets his powers by drawing tattoos on himself, like drawing springs on his feet. The Renegades don't like the Sentinal because they don't know who he's working for. They also don't know it's Adrian. There's also a kid named Max who  they keep in a glass quarantine. Adrian and Max have the same adoptive fathers, Captain Chromium and the Dread Warden. Max is having experiments done on him because of his ability- to take a prodigy's (someone with a superpower)  power. He took Ace Anarchy's power of telekinesis, among others. Nova and Adrian also have two other prodigies on their team- Oscar, Ruby, and Danna. Danna can turn into a swarm of butterflies, Oscar and summon gas at any point, and Ruby bleeds jewels and weapons. In the end of the book, Nova and Ingrid (an Anarchist)  hatch a plan where they fake their deaths so then they don't have to worry about Nova being found out. So Nova and Ingrid (Nightmare and the Detonator) have a fight and they "kill each other". But then, Nova comes back as herself and kills Ingrid because she betrayed her. In Arch Enemies, we find out about this serum called Agent N. Agent N can take away any prodigy's powers. They try it out on the Puppeteer, who is an Anarchist that was captured by the Renegades in the beginning of the first book. His power is to manipulate children like puppets. Every time he sees Nova, he's really confused because he knows about Nightmare. So when they tell him Nightmare is dead, he is really confused. He tells Adrian he would give him information if he found his puppet. He goes to Nova, who is working in the artifacts department. She;s working there so she can find Ace Anarchy's helmet. Ace is still alove, but he's dying, so the helmet would enhance his powers and make him strong again. The only problem is it's it a protective case nobody can get through. Anyway, Nova helps Adrian find the puppet. They find it, give it to the Puppeteer, and he tells Adrian that Nightmare is still alive. They think he's lying because how could he know if he has no contact with the Anarchists? Most of the book is Adrian and Nova along with Oscar and Ruby awkwardly flirting and Danna making fun of them. So Adrian gets an artifact called the Vitality Charm, which is supposed to ward off diseases. He wonders if it will work to go into Max's quarantine, so he does. It works. He tattoos the vitality charm on himself so he can be with Max more. Nova wants the charm too, so she goes to Adrian's house to see him/ be a villain. They have a sweet time together and Nova uses her prodigy power to put people to sleep on Adrian. She goes upstairs to find the charm. She does. Adrian invites her to a gala and she accepts. The next night, they go to the gala and confess their feelings for each other. Oscar and Ruby also dance, but they don't tell each other anything. They're all wondering where Danna is, but Nova knows. Before the gala at Anarchist HQ, Ace, Honey, Leroy, Nova, and Phobia were talking. Nova saw a butterfly. She immediately knew that Danna was on to her. She trapped the butterfly, knowing that she can't go into human form without all of the butterflies. Adrian is walking home from the gala and sees another butterfly. He knows it's Danna too, and the butterfly is leading him to the other one. He meets Phobia. His power is to tell your deepest fear. He shows him Adrian's mom, who is dead. Then, Adrian sees Oscar and Ruby. Phobia disappears. Adrian transforms into the Sentinal. Then, he sees Danna's butterflies. They cover him, and then he lets down his mask so Oscar and Ruby can see who he is. Then, they go to Anarchist HQ. They see Ace Anarchy who they thought was dead. They capture him and take him to the Renegades. Nova is at Renegade HQ getting Ace's helmet. 3 of the bully Renegades find her and she uses a gas version of Agent N that she stole on them. Then she runs into Max. One of the Renegades tries to kill Nova, but misses and hits Max instead, The Sentinal shows up and takes Max away to the hospital. Adrian thinks that Nightmare (Nova) tried to kill Max. He vows to kill her and asks Nova to help. 

These two books are really interesting. I'll never think of villains the same way again. Everyone has motives and different perspectives on things. Adrian hates the Anarchists because one of them killed his mom and Nova hates the Renegades because they failed to do their job when she needed help. I want to know if Nova gets found out in the next book. And if she does, how will that affect her relationship Adrian? And anyone else on the team? Also, which Anarchist killed Adrian's mom? I'm so excited to see how this series ends!]]> 2020-09-15 02:51:37 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/746460874 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/829276573 Supernova is the last book in the series. The Anarchists realize they can't keep Nova's secret a secret for much longer. People are starting to get suspicious. In the beginning, Danna appears in human form and tells Adrian, Ruby, and Oscar that Nova is Nightmare. They arrest her, but Nova insists on her innocence. A few weeks later, a girl who is allied with the anarchists pretends to be Nightmare. They think that Nova isn't Nightmare, so they release her. Danna can't provide any more evidence because the butterfly that was watching the Anarchists died, so she can't get any information from it. The only other problem is Ace Anarchy is still in prison. They were planning to neutralize and execute Nightmare and Ace Anarchy, but since they got the wrong Nightmare, it's just going to be Ace. They hatch a plan to get Ace out of captivity and take over. Nova is starting to doubt what Ace has been preaching at her for her entire life. She doesn't like that all these people have been killed and all the destruction that has happened. Later, her and Honey look at books that Adrian made when he was younger. They realize that the monster that has been haunting Adrian's nightmares, the the hooded black cloud with skeletal hands, was Phobia. Adrian created Phobia, and Phobia killed Adrian's mom. Fast forward a few days and Ace Anarchy's execution date has come. They find out Nova is actually Nightmare, Ace gets away, and Honey's bees have agent N in the stingers, so they neutralize most of the Renegades, including Ruby and Danna. Adrian reveals to everyone that he is the Sentinal, and Nova isn't happy about it. The Anarchists take Adrian hostage in the church that used to be Anarchist HQ, and him and Nova forgive each other for the secrets they didn't share. Honey tries to kill Nova, and she pushes Honey off the balcony and kills her. Adrian and Nova go back to the execution, but it's now a face-off between Ace Anarchy and Captain Chromium. Ace has his helmet, so he's now as powerful as he was when he was younger. Captain Chromium asks Nova why she hates the Renegades, and she explains why. Captain Chromium explains that her father had come to them telling them what Ace was up to. He also asked for protection against Ace. He sent a Renegade to their apartment, but that Renegade was Adrian's mom. It was the same night that she died. Nova realized that Ace never knew she was a prodigy because her dad didn't want Ace to turn her into a villain. She now realizes that Ace killed her parents and sister. She turns against Ace and kills him which causes a huge explosion to happen. This huge explosion caused everyone to get prodigy powers and give back powers to anyone who was neutralized. Nova doesn't get locked up, and everything ends happily. The ending is that the prodigy Magpie, the one Nova didn't like very much, was made a prodigy because of a bullet. When she was a baby, people came into her apartment and killed her parents. Her older sister was never found, but she survived. So Evie actually survived. 

This book had so many plot twists it was insane. I was so invested that I started it on a Friday night and finished it Sunday morning. I thought this book was an amazing ending to the series. The entire time I was reading, I was trying to imagine how a happy ending would happen and I couldn't think of one. She did an amazing job in the "final battle'. She also got all the relationships together that needed to be together (Adrian and Nova, Oscar and Ruby). I also never expected that Adrian created Phobia and that Phobia killed his mom. He created the monster that killed his mother. Phobia was being really creepy the entire book and I didn't know how sweet Adrian could make such a horrible monster. I thought it was also a good thing to make Magpie Evie, but I wanted to see Nova finding out that Evie was actually alive. This book was one of the best I've ever read and I'm sad to leave the series behind.]]> 2020-10-14 16:16:56 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/829276573 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/876562611 Lovely Bones is a book that makes you think about death and grief. Susie Salmon is 14 years old as she's walking home from school by a cornfield. Her neighbor Mr. George Harvey meets her and tells her to go in the cornfield with him. She agrees. He rapes and kills her. Susie's family, her mom, dad, little brother Buckley, and little sister Lindsey, are distraught over her death. Susie's ghost narrates the story. She watches as her family tries to find her killer, her mother has an affair with the detective, and Lindsey fall in love. Eventually, their mother leaves the family and their grandma moves in with them. Susie's dad still hasn't dealt with her loss and is depressed. The story ends with Lindsey getting married to her high school sweetheart and having a kid named Abigail (her mom's name) Suzanne. Susie wishes the reader "A long and happy life."

This book was pretty good, but kind of unsettling. In the beginning, I had a hard time reading Susie being raped. The rest of the book was kind of long and drawn out. The big event happened more in the beginning and the rest of the book was a bunch of small events. I also want to know if Lindsey ever reunited with Susie in heaven. Overall, this book was pretty mediocre.]]> 2020-10-30 14:37:19 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/876562611 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/927212888 This book is the last installment of the Trials of Apollo series. Meg and Apollo are on a train in DC headed to New York. They need to get to Camp Half-Blood. On the train, they encounter many monsters. One of the monsters was Meg's friend at one point, so she goes with Meg and Apollo when they escape the other monsters. They aren't close enough to Camp Half Blood to stay the night, so they go to Percy Jackson's house. Percy isn't there because he's on a road trip with Grover and Annabeth going to New Rome. Meg and Apollo talk with Sally and Paul, Percy's mom and step-dad, about what's happening in the demigod world. That was where I stopped.

This book started out kind of boring. It was hard to find the willpower to read. I really wanted Percy and Annabeth to be in this book more, but they aren't so far and from what I've heard from other people, they are in it for a few pages at the end. Then again, I've heard that this book is amazing too, so I'll just have to keep reading! I wonder how Apollo is going to get his godhood back. How will Meg react? I also wonder how things are at Camp Half Blood. Are there any more new campers? Are the original demigods back, or do they not make an appearance? I'm excited to get to the good part of the book!]]> 2020-11-16 14:16:40 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/927212888 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/971831137 Eddie and his family (mom, dad, and brother) are moving from New York to Los Angeles so his mom can write for a movie. All of a sudden when they're flying over Nebraska, their plane crashes. The only survivor is Eddie. He goes straight to the hospital where his aunt and uncle are there. They become his legal guardians. Once he leaves the hospital, he goes to his aunt and uncle's house. Their neighbors are Shay and her mom. Edward becomes close friends with Shay. He doesn't want to sleep in the extra room at his Aunt's, so he sleeps on the floor in Shay's room. Throughout the book, the author jumps from Edward's situation to the story on the plane. We meet a lot of interesting people on the plane, including a war veteran, a woman getting away from her controlling husband, an old rich man close to death, and many others. They also touch on Edward's family- his mom and her depression when Edward was a baby and his brother Jordan who is leaving behind his secret girlfriend in New York. Shay and Edward's relationship becomes tenser as they grow up, mostly because Shay's mom thinks that something fishy happens when Edward sleeps on the floor in Shay's room, so she kicks him out. When they're teenagers they become closer friends again. The end of the book is Edward and Shay going to the memorial for the plane crash. It's a really emotional moment. 

This book made me think about what it would be like to lose my entire immediate family. I can't even imagine how world-altering that would be. I realized that I needed to stop taking my family for granted and appreciate them more.]]> 2020-11-30 15:49:56 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/971831137 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1016260231 In this part of the book, Meg and Apollo need to get to Camp Half-Blood. They get the Gray Sisters cab, where their eye lands on Apollo. They say a prophecy, and Apollo and Meg get to Camp Half Blood where they meet Mr. D (Dionysus). Mr. D leads them to the cabins at camp. They see Will Solace and Nico DiAngelo. Nico finds out that his friend Jason died with Apollo. Apollo passes out, and has a dream about Nero's assembly. They go to breakfast when Apollo wakes up. Mr. D is helping Nico with his PTSD from Tartatus. He gets flashbacks, nightmares, and a voice from Tartarus talks to him. Then, Mr.D calls them over to the table. That was where I stopped.


I'm really interested to find out what voice is talking to Nico. I think that it's Iapetus because he Percy and Annabeth when they were in Tartarus. Nico also took care of Iapetus when he was in Tartarus. I also want to know how Meg faces Nero. Will she retreat to her stepdad? I'm really excited to read more!]]> 2020-12-14 15:16:48 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1016260231 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1092727961 Will, Nico, Meg, and Apollo go to Rachel Dare's house to see if her future-seeing ability has gotten any better. It has a little bit. Then, a bunch of cows come to kill them. They destroy Rachel's house, and then they follow them to a hole where the people kill the cows. Then, they go to see the troglodytes, whom Nico has been talking to. They convince them to stop following Nero. Then, they get out of the hole and follow through with their plan- to surrender themselves to Nero and then the guard, Lu, that's on their side will get them out when Nero starts killing innocent people, which is in about a day. They turn themselves in, only to realize that Nero found out about their plan. That's where I ended. 


This book was kind of slow in the beginning, but it's starting to pick up. I'm really excited to see where this goes!]]> 2021-01-15 19:40:28 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1092727961 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1142226742 Right after he found out Lu was a traitor, Nero cut her hands off. This was disturbing. Then, he put Apollo and Lu in a cell together and they don't know where Meg is. Apollo fixes Lu's wounds, and then he goes to sleep. In his dream, he finds out that Meg is in her room, screaming at Nero. He tries to manipulate her into thinking that he still cares for her, but she isn't having it. When he wakes up, Lu has taped silverware to her stumps as weapons. They get out of the cell and Apollo goes to find Meg. He accidentally goes in the guard's hq, and they almost kill him. Nico comes at the exact right time and kills the guards. Then, they go outside to find Camp Half Blood fighting Nero's monsters. 

I'm really excited to see how this book ends. How will they beat Nero's army? Will New York be burned to a crisp?]]> 2021-01-29 19:34:21 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1142226742 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1169992056 In the beginning of Delirium, the protagonist Lena explains that love is now a disease. There is a procedure you get when you're 18 and they take the loving part out of your brain. Lena's mom had the surgery three times but was never cured. She died when Lena was six. She lives with her aunt Carol and her cousin's children Grace and Jenny. She goes to her evaluation. An evaluation is where the scientists evaluate you to see how well you will work in the world. It also determines who your spouse is. Lena's best friend Hana is at the evaluation too. Hana doesn't like the system, but Lena likes it. They both go to their evaluations. During Lena's, she says some "wrong" answers. Also, the invalids, the people who haven't had the procedure and live in the Wilds, have a protest outside of the room Lena's evaluation is happening in. During the protest, Lena sees a boy. She is caught off guard, and then he winks at her. That's where it ended.

I started this book a while ago, but never really got into it. I think it's starting out really good and I'm excited to see where the book goes from here!]]> 2021-02-05 19:37:07 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1169992056 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1772274606 This book is the story of two sisters who live in France during World War II. Vianne is a mother and a wife who likes things just so. Her husband went off to fight in the war. As a teenager, her father dropped her and her sister Isabelle off at a woman's house so she could take care of them. Their mother died. Vianne went through a lot of hard times. She was broken up about her mother's death and ignored her 5-year-old sister. She got married at 16 and had several miscarriages, which made her even more removed from a relationship with Isabelle. During this time, Isabelle felt alone. She wanted her sister to take care of her, but she was too invested in her own problems to notice her. As years go by, Vianne and her husband Antoine move away with their daughter Sophie. Isabelle, now 18, lives in Paris and hops from boarding school to boarding school. She is outspoken and doesn't like to be told what to do. When the Nazis bomb Paris, she flees to Vianne's house in the countryside. On the way there, she meets a man named Gaetan. They fall in love fast. But when Isabelle falls asleep, he's not there when she wakes up. She's heartbroken. She makes it to Vianne's house and they find out that the French government surrendered to the Nazis. Vianne trusts the government's decision, but Isabelle gets really mad. She wanted the government to stand up for France. All this time, Vianne and Isabelle are fighting. Vianne doesn't want Isabelle's radical beliefs to influence her daughter and Isabelle is still bitter from Vianne's neglecting her when they were kids. Then, a Nazi soldier comes to their door. He asks to stay with them. It's against the law to turn away a soldier, so Vianne lets him in. This makes Isabelle and Vianne's relationship even worse. Then, Isabelle meets another group of radicals. They want her to distribute papers that promote General de Gaulle, who said he wants to fight the Nazis. She agrees.


This book is very thought-provoking. I think about what I would do if I was in Vianne or Isabelle's shoes. I'm not sure who's right in this argument. On one hand, Vianne went through a lot. She lost her mom, her dad abandoned her and her sister, had depression, got pregnant many times, but then lost all the babies, all at a very young age. But then there's Isabelle. She lost her mom, too, but she was only five years old. She relied on Vianne to be her mother figure, but Vianne couldn't be that for her because she had her own things going on. But she also could have tried a little more with her. I feel for both Vianne and Isabelle because they're both hurting in their own ways. I really like this book. I like inferring what will happen next. What will happen with Vianne and the Nazi living in her home? Will she remain faithful to her husband? How will she react when she finds out Isabelle is helping the resistance? I think Isabelle will leave Vianne's house and leave with the resistance group. ]]> 2021-09-27 19:32:03 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1772274606 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1772280608 2021-09-27 19:34:47 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1772280608 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1772280940 2021-09-27 19:34:55 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1772280940 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1775373242 This book had me hooked for this section. Isabelle is the most fearless character I've ever read about. It's crazy to me what she does. In this section, she took Allied fighter pilots across the Pyrenees Mountains. She walked across the mountains for days with these men. I need to be a little bit more like Isabelle. She's so strong. Vianne is also fearless but in a different way. She starves herself to give her daughter food. I don't know how I could do that. She is so sacrificial. Isabelle doesn't see that the only reason why Vianne isn't as gung-ho about the resistance as she is is that she wants to protect Sophie. I can only imagine what it would be like to have a child during a war. It's hard enough to keep yourself alive, but what about another person who completely relies on you for food, shelter, and love? Both of these women are so strong, although they don't think that about each other. I think that Isabelle will continue in the resistance effort and I also think Vianne will become more outspoken. I think she'll try to leave France. ]]> 2021-09-28 17:02:56 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1775373242 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1848491951 When I got home from school, I read this book for two hours straight to finish it. The last chunk of this book is full of many twists and turns it was hard to keep track. So many of the characters changed dramatically throughout the book and it's really interesting to see their development. For example, Isabelle started out as an outspoken teenager who wanted to do something for France, but was to naive to. At her prime (which isn't at the end of the book because she dies after being in a concentration camp), she was an assertive young woman who knew when to speak up and when to quiet down. She was fearless. Vianne started out as a scared mother who didn't want to disobey the rules and hurt her daughter. She felt incomplete without Antoine. At the end of the book, she helped save many Jewish children who would have been sent to concentration camps. She also saved her best friend Rachel's baby boy, Ari. She names him Daniel to hide his identity and keeps him for a few years. She also learned how to survive on her own and stay strong for her daughter. I really admire both of these women. They both were fearless in their own ways, but neither of them really understood the other until the end of the book. When Isabelle's concentration camp is liberated, she goes to Vianne's house. She is tired, sick, and starving. Vianne takes care of her. They talk and forgive each other for what happened in their childhoods. They also read a letter from their father. He gave it to Vianne before he was killed by the Nazis. He gave himself up for Isabelle by saying that he was the Nightingale, not her. It's a tender moment. Then, Gaetan comes to the house. Isabelle and Gaetan hug, and then Isabelle dies in his arms. Also, two CPS people come to Vianne's house and they take Ari away because he has family in America. I was really sad that this happened, but I see why it did. At the end of the book, it flashes forward to Vianne talking at a conference for the Nightingale. Ari is there and he said he never forgot about their family. Vianne's son didn't know that she had done all this stuff during the Holocaust. He also doesn't know that his real father is a Nazi officer. I think it's probably for the best Vianne didn't tell her son Julian or her husband. Although lying is never good, it can save even more bad things from happening. This book was one of my favorites. I feel so inspired seeing Isabelle and Vianne be who they are. I hope I can be like them as I get older. ]]> 2021-10-27 14:49:56 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1848491951 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1881788153 This book makes me think about me last year. In this book, the main character gets really mad at everyone because of their idiocy and wants them to pay for what they do. She dwells over it and lets it get to her. Reading this, I immediately thought of myself. Last year, I was a lot like the main character Prudence in some ways. If someone did something annoying or wrong, I would get really internally mad at them. I would let it affect my mood and my day. It got so bad that I was texting my mom, pleading with her to let me go home because I just couldn't take it anymore. I don't like thinking about this version of myself. I was so angry all the time that I didn't even see the good things in my life.  Bitterness can eat you up alive if you let it. I realized over the summer that I had let bitterness eat me up. I needed a mindset shift. Before, it was "People are stupid and I hate everything." Now, it's "I can have joy despite everything bringing me down." I wish I would have read this book a while ago. I would have started letting go of bitterness a lot earlier. I really hope Prudence can stop being bitter at these people.  ]]> 2021-11-10 16:20:37 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1881788153 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1931867289 In this section of the book, the two main characters start to understand each other. Quint realizes that Prudence isn't a bad person even though she's a control freak and Prudence realizes that Quint isn't a bad person even though he isn't as detail-oriented as she is. Both characters made judgments about the other before really getting to know them. I feel like this is a natural human instinct to do. We assume so many bad things about perfectly fine people because of our biases against that kind of person. It's really easy to do. When Quint and Prudence finally overcame their differences and understood each other, they could work better as a group. Even though they still find each other a little bit annoying, they understand their quirks and why they happen. ]]> 2021-12-06 18:32:27 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1931867289 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1952767523 This section of the book focused on Prudence trying to care more about her volunteer work. It's really cool to see her blossom into a person who actually cares about the cause she's fighting for and not just doing it to get something in return, like a grade. Quint told her that their deal was up and she didn't have to keep volunteering at the rescue center anymore. Prudence still wanted to work at the center, even though there was nothing left in it for her. She just genuinely cared about helping pit want wanted to make the world a better place.]]> 2021-12-17 00:04:56 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1952767523 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1954214956   I would say that I did a pretty good job on my padlets. I read what I needed to and reflected on it. Although I technically did what I was supposed to, I could have done more. I could have finished The Nightingale in two weeks instead of the four it actually did. This year I’ve been in somewhat of a reading slump. I go in phases with reading- one month I read six books and then I don’t read another one for a few months. Although my desire to read ebbs and flows, my love for books is consistent. The themes I’ve learned from books will stay with me for a very long time. For example, The Nightingale really made me think about loving people during hard times. Isabelle and Vianne had so many arguments and went through so many hardships together, and even through all that, they always found their way back to each other. I think that’s really beautiful. In the book Instant Karma, I see myself. I’ve already gone over this in my padlet, but I used to always want revenge on the people who would annoy and dismiss me. It took a while, but I don’t let stuff like that bother me anymore. The main character in this book has the power to inflict karma, good or bad, on whoever she wants. She soon realizes that this gift is way too powerful for a human to possess. I haven’t finished the book yet, but I hope it ends with Prudence realizing that she doesn’t have to be mad at everyone all the time. I hope she realizes that it’s possible to find joy even with the constant distractions weighing her down. Overall, I learned a lot from the books I read this semester, even though there weren’t a lot of them. I was under a lot of stress this semester, and I hope that I can read more next semester.

]]> 2021-12-17 19:28:57 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/1954214956 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2011605178 This book is very interesting and it also gives me a little bit of existential dread. It's set in a version of the future where all diseases have been cured and it's impossible to die. Unless a Scythe comes for you. Scythes are the people who "glean" so they can control the population. The two main characters, Citra and Rowan, are chosen by a Scythe to be apprentices. One of them will become a Scythe at the end of their training. Long story short, their Scythe gleans himself and they have to go be apprentices to other scythes. Also, the rules have changed with their apprenticeship. Whoever doesn't become a scythe has to be gleaned by the person who became a scythe. Rowan goes with a ruthless scythe who does mass gleanings. You start to see Rowan become desensitized to violence, which is very sad. At the beginning, he didn't find joy in anything a Scythe did. He didn't want to kill anyone. And even though he still doesn't want to, he finds it normal to do the things his new Scythe tells him to do. Citra on the other hand is with a wise female Scythe. When this Scythe gleans someone, she tells the family that if they want to do the same thing to her, they can. There are revival centers in this universe where if you get seriously injured, you can be revived. I like this Scythe better because she realizes that what she's doing is causing others pain. Rowan's Scythe just wants to kill. It makes me angry that the Scythe board doesn't do anything about it. I predict that Rowan and Citra will do what Katniss and Peeta did in The Hunger Games. I think they'll threaten to kill themselves or run away so they won't have to kill each other. The reason why this book gives me existential dread is the method of death. In the present day, we all know that today could be our last. Even though we don't think about it, that makes every day more special because we know that we don't have very long to live. In the Scythe universe, you can live for as long as you want until a Scythe kills you. In my opinion, it's scarier to be killed by a person who says "I'm going to kill you," rather than a random car accident. We aren't dreading the day that we die because we don't know when that day comes. Even though the people in the Scythe universe don't know the day they'll die either, they're in fear of it every single time they see a Scythe walking down the street. ]]> 2022-01-25 16:22:16 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2011605178 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2057713748 The second part of this book had me on the edge of my seat! Rowan ends up killing his new scythe (Scythe Goddard) and his henchmen. Citra keeps training under her scythe and they become good friends. At the conclave (the scythe meeting), Citra and Rowan have their tests, which are they have to glean a family member. Fortunately, their family members get revived, but that would still be very traumatic. Citra ends up winning. Right when Citra is about to kill Rowan, she signals to him to kiss her ring, which means he'll have immunity for a year. He does and runs away. The most interesting part of this book was when Rowan killed Scythe Goddard and his junior scythe "henchmen". One of the junior scythes (Scythe Volta) was like Rowan in that he didn't like what Scythe Goddard was doing. They did a mass gleaning and Volta walked in on a classroom. He killed them all, even the children. He couldn't live with it, so he killed himself immediately after. Rowan was so angered with this that he went to Scythe Goddard and yelled at him, telling him all that he was doing wrong. He killed him shortly after. I like that Rowan was bold in this moment. He realized that what they were doing was wrong and he told Goddard about it. ]]> 2022-02-20 22:32:46 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2057713748 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2069802750 This book takes place about a year after Scythe. Citra is a scythe, but she doesn't do it like all the other scythes do it. She tells someone they're going to be gleaned and then gives them a month to get everything in order. She is still really close with Scythe Curie. Rowan has taken it upon himself to kill all the bad scythes, like Scythe Goddard. All the scythes at power try to find him, but they can't get to him fast enough. The whole time I was reading, I was trying to figure out if what Rowan was doing was right or not. He is trying to put an end to the bad scythes, but isn't that what he's doing? But also, the scythes he's killing are terrible human beings, so they deserve to die... right? On the bright side, I really like what Citra's doing. She gives the person a chance to say goodbye to their families and do the things they need to do. I really like that she did this. ]]> 2022-02-28 16:16:49 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2069802750 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2115913152 This book was about a school shooting. It was in the perspective of four different students. Autumn is the sister of the school shooter, Tyler. She is a dancer and her girlfriend Sylvia is another one of the main perspectives in the story. Her twin, Tomas, has a perspective too. Claire, a track runner and the ex-girlfriend of Tyler, is the last perspective. Everyone is in the gym for a school assembly and when they try to leave, they find that all the doors are chained shut. Then, they see Tyler with a gun. He starts shooting and people fall to the floor. Tyler doesn't go for the people he doesn't like- he goes for their loved ones. For example, he kills Claire's brother. In the end, he ends up killing Tomas and shoots Autumn in the knee, shattering it. She can't dance anymore. To be honest, I didn't like this book very much. I think the author was trying to do this huge thing with it, but it kind of fell short. I didn't really feel for the characters because I didn't really know them. None of them really had personalities, they were more just reacting to Tyler's actions. I also didn't really get what was going on with Tyler. I didn't get his motivation for killing everyone. They said it was because of his mom dying and him feeling lonely, but they didn't really show it. This book shows how to not write  a book. The author is constantly "telling" and not "showing." I wanted to like this book, but I will probably forget about it in a week because of the underdeveloped characters and weak plot. 

]]> 2022-03-27 20:55:31 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2115913152 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2115921063 I was very eager to read this book because of the author, Ruta Sepetys. She has written some of my favorite books, including Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, and Fountains of Silence. She is amazing at historical fiction. This book is about a girl named Josie who lives New Orleans in the 1940's. Her mom is a prostitute and she's trying to find her father. I feel really bad for Josie. She has been living on her own since she was 11 because her mom is so inconsistent. This taught Josie become her own parent. At 11. No one should ever have to deal with that. This sets her up to be a strong main character and I'm excited to see where she goes in this book. I'm also excited to see where her relationship with her mom goes in this book. Will they have a huge fight? Will her mom change and become a good person? I can't wait to see where this goes!]]> 2022-03-27 21:07:44 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2115921063 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2139811911 I have been very busy the past few weeks, so I decided to do my padlet on my favorite musical, Waitress. I discovered this musical about two years ago and it has been my favorite since then. It follows Jenna, a waitress with an abusive husband and a talent for baking, and her friends Dawn and Becky as they work at a diner. Dawn is Type A and has never had a boyfriend. She is scared of everything from germs to falling in love. Becky is a strong personality who does whatever she wants. One day, Jenna finds out she's pregnant. She doesn't want the baby because it's her abusive husband, Earl's. She goes to the OBGYN and her doctor is named Doctor Pomatter. She brings him a pie and they fall in love, even though they're both married. Meanwhile, Earl loses his job and takes all of the tips Jenna gets. He finds out she's pregnant and makes her promise that she won't love the baby more than she loves him. He sucks. Dawn is scared to go on a date with a guy because she doesn't want to fall in love. Things between Jenna and Doctor Pomatter start to get more heated and then they start their... affair. Jenna also starts hiding her money from Earl so she can leave him when she has the baby. She also enters into a pie contest that has a huge cash prize. Eventually, Earl finds the money that she's been hiding and she lies, saying it's for the baby's crib. Jenna feels like she'🤬 rock bottom and she doesn't know how she got to this point in her life. Then, she goes into labor. One of the nurses at the hospital is Dr. Pomatter's wife, making things a little awkward. Jenna has a baby girl and names her LuLu. Seeing her baby for the first time, she finally gets the strength she needs to tell Earl she wants a divorce. She also tells Dr. Pomatter that she wants to end their relationship. At the end of the musical, Jenna owns her own pie shop. This musical gives me a warm feeling inside. The music in this show is amazing. In my opinion, the best song in this musical is She Used to Be Mine. Jenna sings, 
"... When she's bruised and gets used by a man who can't love 
And then she'll get stuck and be scared of the life that's inside her 
Growing stronger each day
Till it finally reminds her to fight just a little
To bring back the fire in her eyes 
That's been gone but it used to be mine"

Her marriage is holding her back from being all that she wants to be. She feels stuck and alone. She wants to fight, but she's tired and discouraged. In this song, she's taking a step back and looking at her life, realizing that this life isn't at all like the one she planned for herself when she was young. She misses who she used to be. Then when she has Lulu, she gets the strength to leave Earl. She becomes the girl she used to, but better. She lived through this trial and got through it. Another good song in this musical is When He Sees Me, sung by Dawn before she goes on her date. She sings,
"What if when he sees me 
I like him and he knows it?
What if he opens up a door and I can't close?
What happens then? ...
I'm not prepared for that
I'm scared of breaking open"
Dawn wants to keep her walls up because she doesn't want the unpredictability of feelings to interfere with her life. She is scared that a guy will come into her life and she'll have to be vulnerable with him. In the end of the musical, she ends up marrying the guy she was scared to go on a date with. She was vulnerable and had a meaningful relationship. This musical's message is very relatable. Jenna is stuck in her situation and knows that she's capable of more than what she's doing. It's so heartwarming to see her in the end of the musical get away from her abusive husband and finally get the life that she wants. ]]> 2022-04-11 20:44:40 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2139811911 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2178245548 I've been book jumping lately, but I think I'll stick with this one. This book starts out with the author of the book talking about how it came to be. He's a veteran who has been writing a book about the Dresdon bombing he was in. The second chapter starts the actual book. Billy Pilgrim is a soldier and the story goes back and forth in time, showing his life at different times. This book makes an emphasis on being "unstuck in time." Billy says that we was abducted by the Tralfamadorians, an alien civilization. They can see in four dimensions and they have some pretty interesting looks on time. They say that when someone dies, we shouldn't be sad because they're alive in another moment. When someone dies, they're just dead in that moment. In the past, they're alive. This part of the book made me really think. I wonder if all time is happening simultaneously, but just in different places. Is this the only moment I exist in? Is there a seven-year-old version of me in a different universe? I've actually been thinking about this for years, but I just didn't know how to express it because I was 9 or something. If this belief of the aliens was true, then life would be a whole lot easier. We wouldn't have to mourn. Time is really confusing, as is this book so far. I don't know if the Traldamadorians are real or if Billy is going insane. Also, I know that this is an anti-war book, but I haven't seen any anti-war themes yet, except for once at the beginning. The author of the book was at a soldier friend's house. The friend's wife didn't really like him, and he didn't understand why. She later says that she doesn't want the book to glamorize war. I'm excited to see where Kurt Vonnegut takes this book! Is Billy hallucinating or are the aliens actually real? Is he actually traveling through time? ]]> 2022-05-10 20:02:29 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2178245548 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2270235179 2022-08-24 15:17:08 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2270235179 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2270297053 In Sandoval's essay, his voice sounds very wistful and nostalgic. In the line, "When we stayed in the abandoned RV, when we wore socks on our hands and listened to cassettes, when we meditated in the morning, when we ran the hills and scared the horses, and looked across the valley, and did not sweat, the hum of silence, the endless breeze and cattle guards and arroyo washes," he's reminiscing abut his time in New Mexico with his brother. He looks back at these memories with fondness. In this line and throughout the whole essay, he shows us that even though times were hard, it was a special time he had with his brother. He's sad the time is over, but also glad that it happened. He wants us to feel nostalgic with him, which he does a good job of. Reading this, I feel nostalgic for everything that happened during my childhood, from the good to the bad. Although I know my childhood isn't over yet, this chapter of my life is almost at a close. My older brother leaves for college soon, I'm starting to think about my future, and I have a lot more freedoms and responsibilities. I'm happy with the place my life is at right now, but I sometimes miss the earlier years of my life. I think that's what's happening with this author. We can infer that he doesn't live in an RV anymore, which is a good thing. He's probably glad he's not in the camper anymore, but misses the good times with his brother. I think most people can relate to this. ]]> 2022-08-24 16:03:28 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2270297053 https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2280868012 I don't think I'm the target audience for the Center of the Universe book. In my opinion, I think that the target audience would be for teenagers a little younger than me, like 13 or 14-year-olds. I don't think I'm the target audience because, frankly, I think Anita is really annoying. She's super rude to her parents, always negative, and thinks the world is crashing down on her when she's slightly inconvenienced. I think this is for younger teens because they would think that Anita is cool and older than them. They would think that she was funny. As you can probably tell, I have a very negative reaction to this book. What really turned me off about her was that even in her adulthood, she was still acting like a self-centered teenager. She needs to grow up and people like that really annoy me. Her sense of humor isn't really my style and when she tries to be funny, I just see it as her being annoying and loud. It's safe to say that if Anita went to my high school, I may have to transfer. Although I find Anita unbearable, it's important to read voices I don't agree with. Even though I don't think Anita is accurately depicting what being a teenager is like, someone else may identify with her writing. I can see what other people's teenage experiences are like, even if it's not like my own. ]]> 2022-09-02 15:29:01 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2280868012 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2300145911 I think this quote is somewhat true. Memories aren't ALWAYS inaccurate, but they sometimes can be. We create false memories based on other people's perspectives of the event and our changing feelings on the time in our lives. For example, if I was talking to my friend about a party we went to together and she said she didn't like it, it's possible that my memories of the party would shift. I may view the party as not fun. Our own feelings and biases get in the way of our memories, too. Let's say I watched a movie with Will Ferrell in it and I remember it being really funny and I liked it. A few weeks later, it came out in the news that Will Ferrell burned orphanages and killed nuns. My memory of the funny movie would be clouded by the news of Will Ferrell being a monster. If I remembered seeing the movie, I wouldn't get the happy feelings I got when I saw the movie for the first time, but rather get mad at Will Ferrell for murdering people. ]]> 2022-09-16 15:04:47 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2300145911 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2310671520 Free-range parenting has some of pros and a lot of cons. First of all, the kids aren't stressed out about getting in trouble or living up to their parents' expectations. If they make a mistake, that's on them. They don't have their parents to hound them about it. It also lets kids be kids. They can have fun, making minor mistakes along the way. When free range parenting becomes harmful, it teeters on the edge of child abuse and neglect. The kids could also be stressed out by making all the decisions on their own. They have a lot more responsibility, even if it doesn't seem like it. Rose Mary and Rex don't enforce any rules on their children. Children need some sort of structure in order to live their lives safely. They also don't supervise their children. I get that kids aren't supervised 24/7, but parents usually check on their kids when they play. Rose Mary and Rex don't pay attention to their kids because they want them to "live their own lives," but in my opinion, these kids are too young for that. The responsibilities they have need to be eased onto them, not thrown on at such a young age. ]]> 2022-09-23 15:13:34 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2310671520 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2321449248 The Walls family has many values, one of them being strength and toughness. Rex taught Jeanette this value when he taught her to swim. They went into a hot spring and he let her go in the water to fend for herself. This may be borderline abusive, but it made her tough. She and her brother Brian had to use this for when the bullies started beating up Jeanette. Brian got a stick and started beating the bullies up with it and Jeanette got a rock and threw it at them. They didn't let the girls get the better of them. They fought until they left them alone. I think their lives would be harder, but also easier. The circumstances that made them tough are enough to keep a therapist busy for a really long time. These kids have been neglected and abused. Even though the circumstances they were in weren't fair to them, they made them better equipped to fight battles in the future. They learned how to be tough from their pasts and they used that to their advantages. ]]> 2022-09-30 18:00:19 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2321449248 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2341492563 I think the Walls family moved to Welch because Rose Mary felt like they needed a fresh start. Maybe she thought that being in Rex's hometown would help his alcoholism. In the book, "With Dad drinking again, and no money coming in, Mom began to talk about moving east, to West Virginia, where Dad's parents lived" (123). ]]> 2022-10-15 19:17:29 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2341492563 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2451278394 In Kindred, it's very important to Butler that the readers understand the plight of the African Americans in the antebellum era. On Dana's second trip to the past, she witnesses a slave being whipped. She said how she'd seen whippings in movies and tv shows, but nothing could have prepared her for the actual thing. A lot of modern people can probably relate to Dana. We can't imagine humans doing things to each other with this level of cruelty. Since we can't picture the reality of what happened, we just assume that it wasn't as cruel as it really was. A lot of people underestimate what the African Americans went through, so Butler tried to change that with her book. She wanted to show modern people just how bad the slaves had it, and she did a really good job of it. I now have a better understanding of how bad slavery actually was and how desensitized the white people were to all the brutality. ]]> 2023-01-20 16:29:17 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2451278394 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2464702333 This story is really fascinating. What I found most interesting is Kevin. I always wonder what would happen if he doesn't go back with Dana. How much time would pass? Would he grow old while she stays the same age? And when Dana goes back, how will she find him? And what if he got remarried in the time he was there? And how would his personality change? I think about this a little too much. I really hope that Kevin would stay the same, but being in an entirely new environment would change a person a lot. I'm super excited to keep reading! ]]> 2023-02-01 14:56:48 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2464702333 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2487929949 I realized I liked this book when Dana went back in time with Kevin. This was when I really started to get into the book. Kevin being a part of the picture made things a lot more interesting. Like I said in the second entry, I was really interested in whether he would come back with Dana or not. I was trying to picture in my mind what would happen if he got stuck in the past. As it turns out, he actually got stuck. After he got stuck, I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know how he'd changed in the time he was gone, and in my opinion, it took WAY too long for Dana to find Kevin, but it kept me reading! I was also interested in the slaves' perceptions of Dana. What did they think of Kevin and Dana's relationship? Did they think they were doing sketchy things? This book really makes me think and I'm really loving it so far!]]> 2023-02-20 02:41:11 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2487929949 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2496556808 I think a person who is interested in a lot of different genres will like this book. Kindred has sci-fi and historical fiction, which you don't see very often. The book does a good job of mixing the two genres. It also does a good job of keeping the reader interested. There were parts that were a little long and boring, but right after them, something interesting happened to keep my attention. The worst part of the book was Rufus. This kid made me want to jump in front of a train. He was so annoying, entitled, and manipulative. Dana had every right to kill him off. Every time I saw his name in the book, I winced a little. Even though he was the worst part of the book, he was very thought-provoking for me. It was really interesting to me how his character developed from a little kid to an adult in just a few chapters. I liked seeing how his relationship with his mom affected his adult personality. His mom was always babying him, which led him as an adult to be entitled. Rufus was the worst but also best part of the book for me. ]]> 2023-02-27 15:32:07 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2496556808 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2539922090 I think that not tampering with nature is important to Keyes. Charlie's nurse, Hilda, is talking to him about how if God wanted him to be smart, He would have made him smart. She said the scientists shouldn't tamper with the way that he is. This plants a seed for what will happen later in the book. I don't know what happens to Charlie or Algernon, but I know it can't be good. I think Keyes wants to show people that if you take technological advances too far and mess with too much, bad things happen. It's the same with AI. AI is starting to get more and more powerful, and if it got too powerful, it could set off the balance between computers and humans. ]]> 2023-03-31 13:58:12 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2539922090 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2555062357 What's really interesting to me about this book is to see the progression of Charlie's intelligence. At the beginning, he doesn't really know the details of what the doctors are doing to him. You have to read between the lines and really pay attention to what he's writing to understand what Dr. Strauss is doing to Charlie. He also doesn't understand his relationships with his coworkers at the bakery. They're always super mean to him, but he thinks that they're best friends. He also doesn't catch that Miss Kinnian is crying when she went to the bathroom when he told her that all of his "friends" (the scientists) are nice to him and would never do anything bad to him. He lacks emotional intelligence. Then, the experiments start to work. He goes out with his bakery friends and they embarrass him in public. He feels the embarrassment and realizes that they've been bullying him for as long as they've known each other. He feels shame for the first time. The smarter he gets, the worse he starts to feel about himself because he understands what people thought about him. They say ignorance is bliss, and with Charlie, it really is. ]]> 2023-04-15 00:28:21 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2555062357 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2567333651 I wasn't expecting to, but I actually like this book. I think it's really interesting to see how Charlie develops and what kinds of problems he has when he starts to gain intelligence. The part that made me get into the book was in the very beginning. Charlie was still dumb and he didn't understand what Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur were doing to him. He heard bits and pieces of them talking about the experiment, but since he was so dumb, he couldn't understand what they were saying. It baffles me how Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur think that what they're doing is okay. I don't think they expected that Charlie would start to go against them and run away. They didn't think about the fact that as someone gets smarter, they start to question what they've always known to be true. Charlie starts to distrust the two men and they don't like that. I'm excited to see where the book goes! I think that the experiment is going to go wrong. ]]> 2023-04-25 14:21:09 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2567333651 reesesauder https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2588901165 I think this book would be best-suited for someone who is interested in how technological advances affect our society.  People who really liked the movie "The Matrix" would be really into this book, too. They're both about how technological advances ruined society. 

The best part of this book was seeing how Charlie progressed intellectually. It was very interesting to see how he became a different person throughout the book. It was like the book changed narrators throughout the book The worst part of the book was Charlie's experiences with women. They were just so awkward to read and I really didn't like seeing him be clueless. ]]> 2023-05-12 15:57:57 UTC https://padlet.com/reesesauder/2iglcflrezqc332y/wish/2588901165