The best thing about Divergent

The best thing about Divergent is that you never know what will happen next. You always want to read more. For example during the beginning of the book, Beatrice was taking the test and her results came out inconclusive, which means she is Divergent and doesn't have a certain faction to be put into. People who are Divergent are usually taken away or killed because they are different than everyone else. So now she must act like she is Dauntless and only Dauntless. She has to show no signs of any other factions. So far, I don't think that any of Divergent is bad. I think that this book, is easily one of my favorites and I am not even that far yet!

Why did I choose Divergent?

I started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth towards the end of last trimester. I didn't get very far in it because of exams and all of the studying that we had to do so I am very excited to finish it this trimester. I did read other blogs like Ms. Cohen's which helped persuade me to read it. Also a lot of my friends had said how great the books were. Some people even compared it to the Hunger Games, which I loved. Even though I am not very far in the book, a lot has happened. Veronica Roth really pulls you into the book by putting a conflict at the very beginning. It starts the book off with a "bang". I think that it would be very hard to have to choose a faction like Beatrice has to do. I would be afraid to hurt my family but I wouldn't want to choose something that would make my life miserable. Beatrice chooses to live her life the way she wants to and so far it is working out very well for her and I am excited to see how she grows as a character.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is about a government where they censor everything you read. If someone finds out that you own books or you have been hiding them then the Fireman will come and burn all of your books. If you fight them and don't want to give up your books then you may be burned. For example on page 37 it states, "The woman on the porch reached out with contempt to  them all, and struck the kitchen match against the railing." In this case the woman burnt herself the fireman didn't burn her but if anyone didn't want to leave their books then they could be burned or even put in jail. I do have a couple of predictions about events that are going to happen in the book. One prediction is that Clarisse was hit by a car. There was some foreshadowing on page 6 that said, " 'I sometimes think drivers don't know what grass is, or flowers, because they never see them slowly,' she said. ' If you showed a driver a green blur, Oh yes! he'd say, that's grass! A pink blur? That's a rose garden! White blurs are houses. Brown blurs are cows. My uncle drove slowly on a highway once. He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two days. Isn't that funny, and sad, too?' " Then on page 44, Mildred says, " 'No. The same girl. McClellan. McCellan. Run over by a car. Four days ago. I'm not sure. But I think she is dead. The family moved out anyway. I don't know. But I think she's dead.' " Along with those predictions, I do have a few questions. Did she actually get run over by a car or was she taken away because she "knew too much"? Will Montag get caught with all of his books? If so, who will turn him in? What do you all think?

Blog Reflection

Click hereto view my best blog post.

The post I chose as my best post was the character post. In the rubric it says, "The student analyzes in detail how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme." I believe that I did all of those things and I even added quotes to support my findings. As for the first task, explaining how complex characters develop over the course of a text, I explained that in the beginning of the novel she was Abnegation and had to make a huge choice in her life to leave her family and become Dauntless. That choice made her even more brave and it made her want to try new things. The next task was to show how characters interact with other characters. I said, "In this book people only really interact with the people in their faction. Unless your family is in another faction, then you can visit them on the visiting day. Most families don't go to visit the member of their family who switched factions because they feel that they were betrayed." I showed that people only talk to the people "of their kind", even their own family members wouldn't talk to them if they switched factions. Finally, the last task was to show how the character advances the plot or develops the theme. I stated, "Her action ties into the theme, 'sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you', because this choice will change her life forever. She will have to move away and act according to her faction." That shows how her action to switch factions will effect her whole life and it also shows the theme of this novel. 

Over all I thoroughly enjoyed English 1A. I am more of a science and math person but this trimester got me into English as well. As for goals for the next trimesters reading, I would like to read more books and continue to blog because that helps me process the book. As for writing, I would like to continue to work on my grammar and I would like to write more creative writing pieces. Areas for improvement in reading are reading more books and choosing a little more challenging books. I love anything that makes you think. Areas for improvement in writing is definitely grammar.

New update on the Mysterious Dog Disease

In my blog before, the scientists had no idea what this disease was and only a few dogs had died from it. Now they know some symptoms and sadly a lot more dogs have died! Scientists have found out that the symptoms are very similar to those of the flu! Also dogs are having trouble barking. All they can do is cry. They won't eat and they have a lot of abdominal pain. They are also saying that the dogs are getting sick from their owners. A lot of the dogs that got the disease had a sick owner! This is very scary! I mean they still don't have that much information about it and they aren't completely sure of the way that the disease is transmitted! But be careful and don't take your dog to dog parks and if you are sick try not to give it to your dog! 

Divergent Analysis Post

Beatrice and the other new people who chose Dauntless as their faction are doing little tests to see if they are "man" enough to be in that faction. Beatrice can already pick out which people are going to be factionless. All of these tests are making her nervous because they are dangerous. But isn't that the point of being Dauntless, that you are brave? On page 53, it states,"' They're jumping off!' I lift my head. My neck aches. I have been curled up with my back against the wall for at least a half hour, listening to the roaring wind and watching the city smear past us. I sit forward. The train has slowed down in the past few minutes, and I see that the who shouted is right: Dauntless in the cars ahead of us are jumping out as the train passes a rooftop. The tracks are seven stories up. The idea of leaping out of a moving train onto a rooftop, knowing there is a gap between the edge of the roof and the the edge of the track, makes me want to throw up." That excerpt shows that she was nervous and a little scared to do what the Dauntless do everyday. She does end up jumping off the train and she is fine. I believe that as she figures out how the Dauntless do what they do everyday, everything will become easier for her. She was just inducted into the Dauntless faction so she is just starting to do all of the risky things that they do.

Divergent Question Post

Divergent is becoming one of my favorite books! I love how it brings all of these questions into my mind making me want to read more. Will her father come and visit her? Will she ever see her brother again? Is she ready for this big of a change? I mean she choose Dauntless so I guess she isn't afraid at all. Now that I have read more of the book, if I had to choose a faction I think I would choose Dauntless also. I have made a lot of choices in my life so far and I am ready for anything that is thrown at me. I think that Beatrice is the same way. I wonder, will she fall in love with someone in her faction? Or will it be with someone in a different faction? She seems like more of a rebellious girl.  If it is a different faction could they get in trouble?

Divergent Character Post

In Divergent, Beatrice is the main character. She had just taken the test to figure out which faction she would be in and it turns out that she could be in multiple. That is very rare to be "divergent". Now she is forced to choose which faction she thinks that she would fit best in. It is the day where she has to go up on stage in front of the whole society and choose her faction. So far I believe that Beatrice is a dynamic character because she has changed so much. She started out as Abnegation (selfless) and she ended up choosing Dauntless (brave). She has chosen a life away from her family and her father isn't too happy about that. It makes you interested to read more because you want to know if her mom will come and visit her. Will her father come too? Her action ties into the theme, " sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you", because this choice will change her life forever. She will have to move away and act according to her faction. In this book people only really interact with the people in their faction. Unless your family is in another faction, then you can visit them on the visiting day. Most families don't go to visit the member of their family who switched factions because they feel that they were betrayed.

Divergent Book Recommendation

Divergent by Veronica Roth is a book about a society where when you turn 16 you must take a test to determine your faction. There are five factions Abnegation (selfless), Candor (honest), Amity (peaceful), Erudite (intelligent), & Dauntless (brave). Beatrice (main character) took the test to determine her faction and her results were inconclusive! " ' Typically, each stage of the simulation eliminates one or more of the factions, but in your case, only two have been ruled out' "(Roth 22-23). She was told that she was rare, that no one was ever "Divergent". Now she is forced to choose what faction she will live in since you should only have on result in the first place. What faction would you choose? I wouldn't even know where to begin when choosing a faction. I believe there are many pros and cons for all five of the factions. Over all so far I would give this book a 10! It is fantastic!

Tone and Mood Post for Divergent

In Divergent, Beatrice has just finished taking her test to find out what faction she is in. There is no way to study for this test. You just go in and do your best. The tones throughout this section of text are anxious, nervous and confused. Before her test even started she was nervous, " Clumsily I sit in the chair and reclined, putting my head on the headrest. .... I shiver, and goosebumps appear on my arms. .... She stands behind me. I squeeze the armrests so tightly the redness pulls away from my knuckles" (Roth 12-13). Then, after the tests, when she heard that her results were inconclusive, she was very anxious and confused. That rarely ever happens. You never really see anyone that is "Divergent". She is also afraid of what people will think of her. Now she must choose which faction she wants to be in because you can't be in more than one. For example. it says, " ' Beatrice, your results are inconclusive,' she says. ' Typically, each stage of the simulation eliminates one or more of the factions, but in your case, only two have been ruled out.' I stare at her. ' Two?' I ask. My throat is so tight it's hard to talk. ... '...Divergence is extremely dangerous. You understand?' I don't understand- how could inconclusive test results be dangerous?- but I still nod" (Roth 20,21 & 23). The mood of this passage is also anxious as I explained above. It could also be overwhelmed because of all of the information she is receiving. I mean she has no idea what to do about her situation.
In my book so far there hasn't really been a moment where Beatrice has swayed anyone or vise verse. When she takes the tests, depending on how she answers, determines her faction. In her situation she showed that she could be put in multiple factions so her actions swayed the test results. As she was taking the test she was calm, serious and honest so the test results were correct about her. The only reason she thought that is was weird was because it was so rare for it to happen.

Divergent Free Post

I recently stopped reading If I Stay because it was moving very slowly and I really wanted to read Divergent. So far I think that Divergent is a great book! I wonder if it will be that similar to Hunger Games? Will it be has good or better than the Hunger Games? What faction will she choose? I know I wouldn't know which to choose! Will our world ever turn out like that world in Divergent or the Hunger Games? I think it would be very interesting to experience a world like the ones in those books.

Links and Displays Redo Post

I stopped reading If I Stay and I started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. I like it much better than If I Stay and I am only in the second chapter.

This is a picture of the book. When I look at the cover I can make a lot of predictions about what it will be about. One prediction that I made was that it will take place in Chicago and another prediction was that it may be similar to the Hunger Games because of the fireball in the middle.

I choose this quote because I believe that it shows that later on in the book Beatrice will be more rebellious. I can infer that because from what I have read so far, their faction is supposed to be selfless not selfish. Her being selfish does show bravery because she is going against the factions way of life.

The video below perfectly describes the book and the conflict.

The video below explains the book and movie in great detail. It also answers a lot of the questions that you may have before reading.

I believe that this is a great book review. It not only gives you summary of the book but it tells a lot of the great things that the author did to enhance the novel. It also doesn't spoil the book like a lot of the reviews do now.

Divergent Review

This second review was very good also. I loved how it broke it down into categories and reviewed each one. It also had a category where it talked about the authors writing and how it impacted the meaning of the story. This review does say the resolution so watch out as you go farther down the page.

Divergent Review 2

Newspaper: The Disease that is spreading with dogs?!

I read in the newspaper a couple of days ago that there is an unknown disease spreading through Ohio that is killing dogs! They are saying that you shouldn't take your dogs to dog parks or let them interact with other dogs. This makes me scared for my dog! I wouldn't know what to do without him. I wonder if they will figure out what the disease is soon? How many more dogs are going to die? Will it spread to other states?

Theme and Summary

The theme of this book is "sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you." It is stated directly in the book. Mia and her family go for a car ride in the snow and they get into a terrible accident where she is the only one living but she is in a deep coma. Now she is having to try and decide whether she should stay alive or if she should die so that she can be reunited with her family. She can see everything that is happening to her, her boyfriend and her family but she just doesn't know what to do because she is alone. I know the theme is "sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you" because Mia is making a lot of decisions through out this book and the biggest decision that she has to make will change her and her life forever. She will be leaving someone behind so she will be showing strength and probably some regret towards the decision that she had made.

My Thoughts

So far, I find this book very exciting! I have new questions every time I read and my old questions get answered. I think I like this book a lot because it does make you think and question the narrators actions. You always want to know what is going to happen next. I think that the plot helps a lot when it comes to questioning. This is because the plot is so different that you have to wonder will she choose the boyfriend or the family. I want to finish this book quickly so that I can find out who she will choose because it is making me really antsy. 

Reading Skills

In my book If I Stay there is a lot of choices that Mia must make. I predict that she will follow her family members to see how they like their "afterlives" (Is it better than being alive?) and that she will also follow around her boyfriend in his life to see which one seems better for her. I predict this because she only has two choices, to continue living or to just go ahead and die. I think that she will look at all the pros and cons of both choices before she actually chooses since this is such a big decision. Another prediction that I have is that she will try and communicate with her boyfriend but it will not work. I predict this because she has already tried to talk to her family, but because she isn't fully dead yet they couldn't communicate. Since she isn't fully alive I don't think that she will be able to communicate with her boyfriend either (he is alive). The biggest question that I have is, Who will she choose? I also wonder, If she can't communicate with either side, how can she tell which choice is better? The Text to World connection that I made was that, every day people lose loved ones in car accidents and that is exactly what happened in this book. Mia and her family got in a car accident and all of them but Mia lost there life. Now the rest of their family has to deal with the fact that they will never see them again. The Text to Text connection that I made was that, in the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver, Lena also has to make the choice between her boyfriend and her family. Lastly, the Text to Self connection that I made was, in my life I have been faced with many choices and challenges that I have had to over come but you always look at the pros and cons of each decision and most importantly you follow your heart.

(2nd Post) " The Anything Post "

So far, If I Stay seems to be about realization. Something could change your life so quickly that you are faced with many choices. In Mia's case she is in a coma and is having an " out of body " experience. It is almost ghost like. She is having to choose between her family (they are in heaven) and her boyfriend (he is still alive). My head is full of questions, of course the big question who will she choose? I mean wouldn't you think her love for her family might be greater than her love for her boyfriend? Maybe she loves her boyfriend like he is a part of her family? Or maybe she just wants to continue to live even though her family is gone?

Links and Displays (1st Post)

This is the cover of my independent reading novel. It is called If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

  That book trailer perfectly shows what the book is about. It shows the conflict and you start to get an idea of what the theme might be. 

This quote demonstrates the theme of the book. I believe it is a great example of theme because it is lesson. It tells you that choices are very important in life, they can make you as a person and/or they can make your life. (build your personality and life)

I believe that this book is about realization. That you shouldn't ever take things for granted and always make the right choices because like the quote says above, a lot of things can happen in a day.

Book Review for If I Stay by Gayle Forman

1st Post in response to question 14a

            In Room, the theme is undying love that the mother and son share even when the times get tough. Throughout the text you see that their bound as mother and son gets stronger and stronger. On page 236, it states, " 'You must feel an almost pathological need -- understandably -- to stand guard between your son and the world. ' "    " 'Yeah, it's called being a mother.' Ma nearly snarls it." The quote I chose represents the theme perfectly because it shows how Ma really cares about Jack. It explains the love that she has for him. 

The article that I chose summarizes the novel and adds some nice feedback to certain parts of the book. 

Room Article