Coming of Age Blog Post 2

            In "the Truth About Forever"(by Sarah Dessen) Macy (the main character) has been pushing away her feelings and hiding her pain since her dad died. Ever since she got a new job at a catering business she has been letting go more. When her sister comes home with a plan to fix up her dads beach house Macy and her mom are unsure because they don't want to remember the past. Although Wes helped Macy probably the most when it came to coming out and finding herself her sister Caroline gave the best lessons on living your life. "'I know,' Caroline said. 'I understand how hard it has been for you. For both of you.'
     'I don't think you do.' My mom put her hand on her water glass but didn't pick it up or take a sip. 'Otherwise you would understand that this isn't something I want to talk about right now.'
     Mt sister sat back in her chair, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. 'Mom,' she said finally, 'I'm not trying to upset you. I'm just saying that it's been a year and a half. . . and maybe it's time to move on. Dad would have wanted you to be happier than this. I know it.'
      'I thought this was about the beach house,' my mother said stiffly.
      'It is,' Caroline said. 'But it's also about living. You can't hide behind work forever, you know. I mean, when was the last time you and Macy took a vacation or did something nice for yourselves?'
      'I was at the coast just a couple of weeks ago.'
      'For work, Caroline said. 'You work late into the night, you get up early in the morning, you don't do anything but think about the development. Macy never goes out with friends, she spends all her time holed up studying, and she's not going to be seventeen forever--'
      'I'm fine,' I said.
      My sister looked at me, her face softening. 'I know you are,' she said. 'But i just feel like your missing out on something you won't be able to get back later.'"(108-109) I think that this conversation meant that you need to express yourself and live life while you can, and not be held back by anyone else or your past.
             As the book goes on she starts to live a little. She goes out with friends and actually has life. She lets loose and lets people in. She lets go and starts to show what she's feeling. Her mom on the other hand doesn't do as well. The fact that Macy is hanging out so much is putting her mom on edge and when Macy comes home late her mom bans her from seeing them again or work at her catering job anymore. Caroline was happy for Macy and wasn't happy and one final call set her off in trying to convince her mother even more to just stop. "'Caroline, you have to understand,' my mother told her. 'This is important.'
      'No!' my sister screamed, the word suddenly just filling the room. 'This is work, and for you, it's never done. You promised me we'd take this vacation, and I've killed myself getting ready on time so we could have this weekend together as a family. You said you'd be done, but you're never done. All this summer it's been about these stupid townhouses, and two days after they open, you're breaking ground for something else? God! You'll do anything to avoid it.'
      'Avoid what?' my mother said.
      'The past,' Caroline said. 'Our past. I'm tired of acting like nothing ever happened, of pretending he was never here, of not seeing his pictures in the house, or his things. Just because you're not able to let yourself grieve.'
      'Don't,' mt mother said, her voice low, 'talk to me about grief. You have no idea.'
      'I do, though.' Caroline's voice caught, and she swallowed. 'I'm not trying to hide that I'm sad. I'm not trying to forget. You hide here behind all these plans for houses and townhouses because they're new and perfect and don't remind you of anything.'
      'Stop it,' my mother said.
      'And look at Macy,' Caroline continued, ignoring this. 'Do you even know what you're doing to her?'
      My mother looked at me, and i shrank back, trying to stay out of this. 'Macy's fine,' my mother said.
      'No, she's not. God you always say that, but she's not.' Caroline looked at me, as if she wanted me to jump in, but I just sat there. 'Have you even been paying the least bit of attention to what's going on with her? She's been miserable since Dad died, pushing herself so hard to please you. And then, this summer, she finally finds some friends and something she likes to do. But then one tiny slipup, and you take it all away from her.'
       'That has nothing to do with what we're talking about,' my mother said.
       'It has everything to do with it,' Caroline shot back. 'She's was finally getting over what happened. Couldn't you see the change in her? I could, and I was barely here. She was different.'
       'Exactly.' my mother said. 'She was--'
       'Happy,' Caroline  finished for her. 'She was starting to live her life again, and it scared you. Just like me redoing the beach house scared you. You think you're so strong because you never talk about Dad. Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that's what makes you strong.'
       'I've given everything I have to support this family,' my mother replied, biting off the words. 'And for you it's still not enough.'
       'I'm not asking for everything you have.' Caroline put her hands to hr face, breathing in, then lowered them. 'I'm asking you to allow me, and Macy, and especially yourself to remember Dad--'
        My mother exhaled loudly, shaking her head.
        '--and I'm asking you for one week of your time to begin doing it.' Caroline looked at me, then back at my mother. 'That's it.'(326-328) This proved that Macy was getting better but her mom wasn't doing as good. I the end Macy learned just like the quote "learn to accept the things you cannot change and change the things you cannot accept". This is exactly what she learned. She learned to accept that her father was gone, and life continues, and she went outside herself to stop Wes from leaving and finally being together. As for her mom she came around and the book ends with all of them down at the beach house.

Coming of Age blog post 1

         My coming of age book is the Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen.  This book is about the summer of a soon to be senior girl in high school named Macy.  For the summer he boyfriend Jason ( who helped her get over her fathers death ) goes away for Brain Camp and leaves her with his job at the library with friends of his that she doesn't quite fit in with.  One day she meets a group of fun loving teenagers who work in a catering business.  When she gets offered the job she cant resist and from there her life and personality all starts to change for the better.

        This book is a great coming of age novel because it shows how life can be and how sometimes we try pushing things away; try not to remember the past.  But there will always be something to bring them back to the surface.  There's always something to help you grow again.  When coming of age there are always things that will set you back, but those things are the things that help you grow in the first place.  With people those moments could come when your 10, 14, even 26 and in between.  Everybody grows up at different times; some sooner, some later.

         In the book Sarah has her growing up topic as the fact that Macy lost her father but never grieved properly about it.  She never cried, and was always pushing it away that memory that was always there.  She was living what she thought was a perfect life; but in reality it had all the flaws possible.  In the book Sarah even portrayed a sense of growing up about Macy's mother who didn't grieve as well, and just buried herself in her work.  The only one who made it through the best was Caroline, Macy's older sister, she cried and cried and then moved on.  She didn't push away the past.  She let herself be sad; she let herself remember.

          When Caroline was Macy's age she was incredibly rebellious.  Grown up now she doesn't regret that time period of her life.  Although she's no longer like that she believes that every teen need a bit of rebellion to use so that they wouldn't miss out when they were older.  She believed having a sense of rebellion was a big factor in the process of growing.  In the book Sarah wrote "'But it's also about living. You can't hide behind work forever, you know. I mean, when was the last time you and Macy took a vacation or did something nice for yourselves?' 'I was at the coast just a couple of weeks ago.' 'For work,' Caroline said. 'You work late into the night, you get up early in the morning, you don't do anything but think about the development. Macy never goes out with friends, she spends all her time holed up studying, and she's not going to be seventeen forever---' 'I'm fine,' I said.   My sister looked at me, her face softening. 'I know you are,' she said. 'But i just worry about you. I feel like your missing out something you won't be able to get back later.' 'Not everyone needs a social life like you had, Caroline,' my mother said. 'Macy's focused on school, and her grades are excellent. She has a wonderful boyfriend. Just because she's not drinking beer at two in the morning doesn't mean she isn't living a full life.' 'I'm not saying her life isn't full,' Caroline said. 'I just think she's awfully young to be so serious about everything.'"(chapter 6 pg 109).  And so there are other moments in the book that show the issue but this is one. 

          Sarah Dessen did a wonderful job showing stages of growing up,, and just how difficult it could be. She showed one scenario of a situation where you have to over come and grow as a person. But she also showed how you need other people to help you through. How the right people can change everything and you not even know it yet. To live and to grow with a little help will give you the strength to finally be able to call yourself mature, an adult, is quite the process, and no matter how difficult if you just push through you'll be okay.

DON"T PLAGERIZE

            Question 1: The student added in the information with no way to tell if it was there's or not. To include the source they should said where they got the information from followed by underlining or putting the title in quotations (depending) with the author out of the quotations after. They then should put the piece of information in quotations and if possible shown which page(s).
            Question 2: From http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html , " A brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings"
'Below the rolling hills of the horizon lies a small town. There is a peaceful essence flowing from the structures. Perhaps the cool dark colors and the fiery windows spark memories of our own warm childhood years filled with imagination of what exists in the night and dark starry skies. The center point of the town is the tall steeple of the church, reigning largely over the smaller buildings. This steeple casts down a sense of stability onto the town, and also creates a sense of size and seclusion. '
               Question 3: -rewording
                                      -cite your sources
                                      -think before you do and know there will be consequences

2 Favorite Blogs

            My two favorite blogs were written by Sofia and Gabby. I liked Sofia's blog post "Picasso's La Vie"  because she talks about his life and the struggles he went through and how he expressed it in his artwork. She also gives her own opinion about his piece and tells what she thinks it represents. She gave you her thoughts about all of its features. I liked Gabby's blog post "Much Ado About Nothing, but still about something". I liked it because she gave her opinions and review of it and also explained why she thought these things.


            I learned from these pieces that I can still keep my kind of writing and yet also have an intriguing entry of my own. Gabby's showed that i can take my explanation of opinions to another level and Sofia's showed me that i can take my personal opinions to another level.

Paul Cezanne..

            Paul Cezanne was born in 1839 in Aix-en-Provence. He died the year 1906. Cezanne worked with impressionists but was interested in other forms of art. He wanted to investigate the form, color, and structure of objects and how they could relate to each other in a painting. Cezanne was the oldest child born into a wealthy family. His father wanted him to carry on the family business. He was forced to go to law school for 2 years before he was allowed to go to meet his good friend (Emile Zola) in Paris to study art. There he attended the Atelier Suisse school for arts. His favorite artist was Gustave Courbet. Later he met Edouard Monet, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas. In 1869 he met an artist's model named Hortense Fiquet who became his girlfriend.
             Cezanne was known to be shy,awkward, and moody, and his manned often appeared rude. They say he was mostly self-taught and so this made him original. Even though he was self-taught he was determined to learn from old masters. The summer of 1870 he left Paris to go to the south of France so he wouldn't be called to serve in the french army.
             The pyramid of skulls was an oil painting, painted in 1901. This was shortly after the death of his mother (October 25, 1897). The painting was of 4 human skulls in pyramid shape. It was his only painting that was painted so close. It was said that he thought paintings were beautiful to paint. Inbetween the time the time of his mothers death and when this painting was painted he started getting sick. In one of his letters he wrote " For me, life has begun to be a deathly monotonous";" As for me, I'm old. I don't have time to express myself"; and " I might as well be dead". It seemed like when he painted this his mind was in a state of mortality that grew after his mothers death and so he started to fade into this state.

What Will Happen Next

            In Fang (by James Patterson) chips were falling into place. Max came back to the flock wen they were in trouble in Hollywood and after that Fang left and left Max heart broken. In between the Hollywood incident and Fang leaving Angel left to help one of the scientists the flock had met in Africa. Recently Max and Angel definitely hadn't been seeing eye to eye.
            When Fang left he just so happened to go to Angel's crazy scientist to try sending Angel home (even though Max had already tried). But when he got there he was attached and when he woke up he was strapped down on a gurney in a lab seriously injured. Angel didn't know that was going to happen to him and when he died and the scientist (Dr. Hans) wouldn't help him Angel tried to send out a thought to Max. Max got  there first and the flock (+ Dylan) got there a short while after.
             When the predictable fight broke out Max staid at Fang's side and desperate as she was took a vile with adrenaline and injected it into his heart. She new that if he had any chance that was it. Although Dr.Hans tried to stop her Dylan held him back and Fang came back (YEA!). You know you would think that finally when everyone was safe for a little while again things would be okay but nope. Yet again Fang left only leaving behind a note. And with that the book ended.

...

            ... Totally didn't see that coming. I can't believe what happened. By the way now into book 6 called Fang (by James Patterson) while in Africa, Angel said that Fang would be the first to die. That got me like WHAT?!! Still confused as to how she would know that and why she would say anything like that. When they were back home (P.S. they have a home now) after a vote because of a certain turn of events Max was voted out of the flock which got me to another WHAT?!! Another strange thing is that now Jeb's back and he keeps trying to take control over the flock again.
             When the flock was in Africa, Max was introduced to a strange (totally insane) scientist. With him he brought another kid like the flock which shocked everyone (including me). After Angel said that Fang was going to die was when they were introduced and Max's little voice (yes in her head) chimed in with a little fun fact. And I quote "He is your perfect other half". That got e to another WHAT?!! Ever since then, things just don't seem to get better for Max. When Jeb comes to visit accidents start to happen but only after jeb comes and when Max and Fang aren't there. This made me think that Jeb is up to something because of the way he's acting. Instead of supporting Max, he keeps getting in the way of her trying to lead her flock. When things go wrong instead of taking her side he accuses it of being her fault it's like he's trying to jepordize her. Putting up walls between her and the rest of the flock. This leading me to believe that Jeb is once again up to something (besides trying to get her and Dylan together).

Characters and Powers, Friends and Enemies

            The Maximum Ride books are very creative. I think the author did a good job making a fantasy series this long that isn't completely predictable/common. The author (James Patterson) got more and more creative with each new villain he made and how the others were eliminated. The story line never gets boring or old and powers he thought up are very easy to envy. Each flock member is special and unlike the other. And each villain different from the last and improved than the last.

            The first enemies in the story were Erasers. The were perfect flawless looking humans that morphed into man-wolves. They are very strong and were designed to track hunt and kill. The next was still Erasers but with wings. The next after that were Flyboys they looked like Erasers but were robots with an eraser sin coat grown onto them. Next you have mechanical like soldiers that are highly stealthy capturing machines and so on. Currently there are these slim dark robot creatures that have been modified to have machine guns welded into their arms. More always come and each time they get worse and worse, but never bad enough for the flock.

            The flock as you should knows consists of Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. As the story goes on the flock members have been developing new skills. They can all fly but Max can fly way faster then the others at around 230 miles per hour. She also has this voice in her head (I know that just seems like more of a problem which Max thinks too) it's very helpful and always knows the answers. Fang can now blend in with his surrounding if he's pretty still. Iggy is blind but you barely notice because his hearing and touch is incredible. He can also feel colors which is strange but good for him. Also he can see if it's mostly white surrounding. Nudge can attract metal to her. The Gasman and Iggy are both geniuses when it comes to explosives and can make a bomb with just about anything. The Gasman can also produce a green gas the totally reeks. Angel is the most special. She can read and control peoples mind, breath under water, talk to sea animals, and change her appearance. Total is angels dog that can talk and fly and Akila is a normal dog that he says is his true love. put all these members together and you get the flock.

            Put the characters together, a story line and a plot and you get the awesome Maximum Ride series. I've always loved these kind of books that are sci-fie/fantasy. For the author to have these ideas is extremely impressive which makes him one of my favorite authors. I do envy their powers. When i was little i used to believe that it was possible to develop one and I've loved these kind of stories since i could learn to read. If you read these books you will never be bored there's always action and even a little romance.

3 Social Awareness Topics

#4
            In Maximum Ride (by James Patterson) Max, Fang, Iggy, the Gasman, and Angel are on the run still from the erasers. Now that they got Angel back they can continue their journey with the new information that Angel heard at the school. Now they're in New York City looking for an institute that has their files. Where they came from, how they came to be, what they can do, and what makes them so important about them. Apparently Max is supposed to save the world but at the moment that's not the concern.
            Problem being their house has been burned down and erasers are hot on their trail. When it comes to the institute this place definitely doesn't want to be found. The "flock" as they call themselves are constantly in danger and can't seem to go a day without getting into trouble. As they go on they find themselves finding more questions than answers.
            Continuing through their journey Max has been getting really bad pains in her head with flashes of pictures. Most of the time it happens near computers or TVs where words pop up and talk to her telling her things she needs to know. There's also a voice in her head that some what gives her directions but the things it says to her are unclear. This might help them with their problem but it also may lead them further into it. For example, when they walked by a mac store all the computers in the window flashed all the pictures Max was seeing in her head and then greeted her and told her the name of the institution they were looking for. When they were walking max had a building flash in her mind and a street address. When they were in the building but didn't know were to go her voice gave her a riddle "there's a pot of gold under every rainbow" Max hasn't fully figured out what it means but i know it will come up again.

#5
             I did my response on Gabby Pinder's poem. I chose it because it was a good topic and she did a good job explaining her topic. She had a nice poem although sad showed just how severe this issue could be. Unlike those shows were they make it seem almost okay to get pregnant so young but all cases aren't like that.
             I think that the idea of it was is that be careful of what you do and don't try anything when your too young. You might think that it's a good idea at the time but when a worse time comes you have to be prepared for the worse. If you do something as serious as this than you better except the consequences. Although they might not be fair you have to make a plan of what your going to do if that time comes.

#6
             Why do they do this to me
             I didn't do anything wrong

             Why don't they give me food
             Clean my small cage or even let me out of it

             I'm so dirty
             My paws hurt from my nails being curled and too long digging into my paws
             Why can't they cut them
             Why do they do this to me

             I know all homes aren't like mine
             So why is mine like this

             So hungry, so is everyone else
             What did i do to deserve this
             What did we do to deserve this

              My sisters and brothers are all gone
              Why did they let that happen
              Why do they do this to me
              Why do they do this to us

              What did we do to deserve this
              We just want a nice home
              Why do they do this to us

              I won't be the only one left for long
              Soon others will come and soon i will be gone
              Please save us, we cannot help ourselves
              Why have they done this to me
              Why have they done this to any of us

Social Assignment

I will be doing numbers 4, 5, and 6

Animal Cruelty is Wrong

            Countless cases of animal cruelty pop up every day. Some people think its not their problem to fix and/or there's nothing they can do anyway. Well they're wrong. Animals are abused, neglected, hoarded and abandoned left for dead every day. Why these people do what they do...no one knows.
            Some think that people do this because of ignorance, others think that people who perform animal cruelty are more likely to kill a human or break other laws than other people. I personally think that maybe it has to do with their past. Something that haunts them and so they blame animals instead of what was most likely caused by themselves. Others could just be crazy with serious problems which would also be one of my guesses. They want to be alfa dog and so they torture innocent animals that can't defend themselves the way humans could. They also can't say anything, can't tell on the person.
             The people who do help make huge differences and even when people see it on TV or in the news papers and magazines they still say they can't do anything. Some do, but others just say "they can't" instead of "they don't want to be bothered" and this isn't a joke. Animal cruelty is a serious crime. Monsters who display it face years in jail and thousands and thousands of dollars worth of fees based on the severity of the crime.
             Me myself is a extreme animal lover and would do anything to help. If you think you've seen a sign that someone is doing animal cruelty don't do nothing. Do something anything that you think could help. Be the first steps to changing the world and saving the lives of countless animals in America.

What's in Store for Our Characters Fate?

         In Maximum Ride (by James Patterson) Max, Fang, and Nudge have set out to find Angel. Leaving behind Iggy and the Gasman seemed like the best idea to Max, but not for Iggy and the Gasman. After flying for a while Max and everyone had to get food to energize but fell asleep. Is it too late for Angel. Sadly she's already been experimented on once, and the worst is definitely still to come.
         Now that Iggy and the Gasman are still home alone the real frustration really starts to sink in. This is when they come up with their master plan just in case Erasers come after them again. It was to make all sorts of bomb traps but I cant help but feel that it might backfire on them, literally.
        While flying Nudge started to ask about a little town that might be where her parents live. Even though Max said their top priority has to be Angel the author wouldn't have put it in there for no reason.
Plus what is up with Fang and Max. She's always trying to impress him by trying to be a good leader but is it because of how he handles situations that she's jealous, or is it maybe something more. They've all lived together for four years. Although it seems like it would be weird, Fang is only a few months younger than Max so maybe even if she doesn't realize she may have a small attraction to him.
        Will the gang reach Angel in time and will Iggy and the Gasman self-destruct in the mean time? I guess some handle problems better than others.

      
        I am now glad to say that they do save her but that doesn't mean that the flock is now problem free. When saving Angel they found out more than they expected to and ended up earning more problems than they began with. Going along and facing a whole new challenge they have to be even smarter this time. This won't be all that easy being that now they have no clue where they're going. They've headed to New York but will they find what they're expecting to in the big city. Or will more and more mysteries continue to pile up.

Will Hope Be Enough?

        In Maximum Ride (by James Patterson), will hope be enough to help Max bring together her gang and save Angel? For those who are lost, here's the story.
        Max, Jeb, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel were made by scientists to be only 98% human. With this extra 2% they have wings and a special ability. Jeb went missing two years ago and all the gang can think of is that he died. Being he was the leader they were lost for a little while but Max was next when it came to age, and so she took charge.
        Although things have been going good, one morning while picking strawberries a bunch of Erasers dropped from the sky and kidnapped Angel, the 6 year old who can read minds. From the name you could probably guess that there not something you want chasing after you. Erasers are half men, half human mutants that are made to hunt. Sadly there hunt is for anyone who leaves the "school", another bad place to be.
        Four years ago, our little gang escaped the school. This school was were Max and everyone was made and kept in cages to be experimented on. Scientists poked and prodded them to get whatever information they could.
        Erasers were made as security. To train, scientists would let chimpanzees loose and have Erasers hunt them down. No one from the gang ever got the scared and hurt screeches of the chimps out of there memories.
        Everyone had been doing okay until Angel was taken, as well as all of them getting a serious beet down from a bunch of Erasers. The gang must now go back to the school to rescue her. When feeling hopeless the Gasman(also known as Gazzy) found a map Jeb left behind. To there horror it was of the school. After all this time they have to go back to the very place they've all tried so hard to forget with the hope that they'll be okay, and rescue Angel, but will hope be enough?

Character Experiences

         In What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, the main character Mclean doesn't get to know people all the time, or act like her true self because her dad and her are always moving from one place to another. In her new "home," she finds herself slowly getting attached to the people around her even though she knows she shouldn't. Each experience has not prepared her for meeting Dave, who she finds herself getting more and more into each time they hang out. No matter how many times she's found herself saying 'he's not your type', she's having a hard time getting the thought out of her head, and into her heart. In each new place she acts like someone different, someone who she can make disappear when she has to leave again. Whether she's a popular girl or a bookworm, she knows she never has to worry about which role to play because sooner or later she'll have the chance to change again. Unfortunately, she's found herself stuck with her real name, and starts playing someone she's never been before, herself.