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