I recently began reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I noticed he has a very unique and relatable gone while riding. His voice was something that really caught my attention while reading the novel. I decided to conduct some research on him and some of his other works and accomplishments. I found that he has written many other books and received numerous awards including:
New York Times best selling author for:
•Looking for Alaska
•An Abundance of Katherines
•Paper Towns
Co-author of:
•Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Recipient of:
•Michael L. Printz Award(2006)
•Edgar Award(2009)
•Los Angeles Times Book Prize(2 times)
Also, John Green embarked on a project in 2007 to help to educate the nations teenagers in a fun and interactive way. He has a youtube account that he shares with his brother. They make a combination of science and history videos. They talk about everything from biology to chemistry to ancient civilizations to current events. Their videos are extremely enthusiastic and make learning typically boring topics interesting. From the videos I have watched I have noticed that Green's tone in his youtube videos is very similar to that which he writes with. It is a very sarcastic time that helps in getting across a very serious message. After doing thorough research on Green, I would definitely recommend checking out his novels and his youtube channel. They are both really interesting and reliable ways to learn something new!
John Green Youtube Channel
Thanks for reading,
Kayla
Monday, April 28, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Krista Ramsey "Children Need Puppy Kisses, Not Beepers"
In short, this column goes through the story of a young girl who is given a "beeper"(the equivalent of a cell-phone) for he birthday and wished to trade it for a puppy. Her request is denied by her parents, and enforces the message that we are forcing our children to grow up to fast, and taking away an important part of their lives they will never get back--childhood.
Read Column Here
The line I have chosen from the column that I personally believe to be the best would have to be the following: "She is of medium height and slight build, with hair that refuses to take orders from a barrette. She talks softly and hunches her, the kind of girl who hides behind others in school pictures." I absolutely love this line. It was the first line in the column, and matter of fact the first line I read in any column by Krista. I was drawn in immediately. Her diction and syntax are on point for her audience. She uses personification when she states "with hair that refuses to take orders from a barrette". This figurative language helps us to really visualize this girl in our head and even relate to her. Rather than just saying "the girl had messy hair" we get a real feel for not only the girl's appearance but also personality. Also, we see casual diction used to attract an audience of your normal day-to-day people who are skimming through the paper to see if anything catches their eye. We see other examples of figurative language and diction strategies in this line as well. Overall, it is very well-crafted!
Ramsey's writing style as a whole could be described as very casual and relatable. She is very persuasive throughout her stories, and really wants you adopt her viewpoint on any particular issue. She uses a lot of creative writing styles to make her pieces more interesting, and they are more like a narrative than a newspaper article. I think he way she writes about such relatable topics in such a down to earth way really draws in a great audience of readers.
Three Questions for Ramsey:
What makes you notice things like this little girl one day at Kroger? What prompted you to question her?
For the purpose of understanding the message better, was your childhood one like the ones you described as "useless, tail-wagging, double daring, bubble gum-blowing fun" childhoods, or was it like the "being trained at seven to attend an Ivy League" childhood?
If you could suggest one thing to make a difference in the way our society parents their children, what would you suggest?
Read Column Here
The line I have chosen from the column that I personally believe to be the best would have to be the following: "She is of medium height and slight build, with hair that refuses to take orders from a barrette. She talks softly and hunches her, the kind of girl who hides behind others in school pictures." I absolutely love this line. It was the first line in the column, and matter of fact the first line I read in any column by Krista. I was drawn in immediately. Her diction and syntax are on point for her audience. She uses personification when she states "with hair that refuses to take orders from a barrette". This figurative language helps us to really visualize this girl in our head and even relate to her. Rather than just saying "the girl had messy hair" we get a real feel for not only the girl's appearance but also personality. Also, we see casual diction used to attract an audience of your normal day-to-day people who are skimming through the paper to see if anything catches their eye. We see other examples of figurative language and diction strategies in this line as well. Overall, it is very well-crafted!
Ramsey's writing style as a whole could be described as very casual and relatable. She is very persuasive throughout her stories, and really wants you adopt her viewpoint on any particular issue. She uses a lot of creative writing styles to make her pieces more interesting, and they are more like a narrative than a newspaper article. I think he way she writes about such relatable topics in such a down to earth way really draws in a great audience of readers.
Three Questions for Ramsey:
What makes you notice things like this little girl one day at Kroger? What prompted you to question her?
For the purpose of understanding the message better, was your childhood one like the ones you described as "useless, tail-wagging, double daring, bubble gum-blowing fun" childhoods, or was it like the "being trained at seven to attend an Ivy League" childhood?
If you could suggest one thing to make a difference in the way our society parents their children, what would you suggest?
New Book:Mindy Kaling's"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?(And Other Concerns)"
(Video Showcases a little of the personality Mindy has throughout the book)
About two days ago, I could barely tell you who Mindy Kaling was. Now I honestly feel like she's one of my best friends. I stumbled across this book kind of by accident, and ended up putting aside "Allegiant" to read this memoir I stumbled across at Target. It seems kind of lame at first, but I am confident that most females can relate to something in this book. It is basically just a bunch of hilarious stories from Mindy's childhood to now, each one showcasing what lessons came out of them. And did I mentions she's hilarious? She's something that's hard to find: a relatable, down to earth TV star, who is willing to open up about herself to teach lessons to others. She uses so many different comical devices throughout the story including satire, irony, word play found throughout her section titles, and just has a sense of humor about her voice and tone in her writing that makes you laugh out loud as your reading.
There are also a lot of valuable lessons to be learned throughout this book. I'm not quite finished yet, but I would say some of the more valuable lessons I have learned would be about friendship, and how it's better to have a couple of close friends, who can relate to you and you have a lot in common with, than to surround yourself with a lot of friends that you have absolutely nothing in common with and can't really find much interesting to talk about. The friends of the first type will be the friends who support you through everything you do and stay by your side. They will be a large part of your success in life. There is so much more I have learned and laughed about throughout this book, and I definitely, definitely recommend reading it to find out more! You won't regret it!
-Kayla
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Allegiant: Setting Description
Today I would like to blog about the setting at the beginning of Allegiant. I have just begun this book so I don't know a whole lot about the plot, but the way the setting was brought forth in the first 50 pages or so is very clear. I would like to include some quotes from the novel to demonstrate this. These quotes also showcase the great imagery in the novel
•"It wasn't clean as it was in the days when it was the Erudite compound; now it is ravaged by war, bullet holes in the walls and the broken glass of shattered light bulbs everywhere. I walk over dirty footprints and beneath flickering lights..."- pg 4
•"This floor of the Erudite Headquarters is all glass, even the walls. Sunlight refracts through it and casts slivers of rainbows across the floor... A long narrow room with beds on either side. Next to each bed is a glass cabinet for clothes and books, and a small table."-pg 15
• "We reach the end of the lawn . The metal structure is larger and stranger up close than it was from far away. It's really a stage, and arcing above it are massive metal plates that curl in different directions, like an exploded aluminum can."-pg 26
•"Ahead of us is the Hancock building, and beyond it, Lake Shore Drive, the lazy strip of pavement that I once flew over like a bird. We walk the cracked sidewalk side by side, our clothes smeared with Edward's blood, now dry." -pg 41
•"I only find myself in a ransacked laboratory, beakers and test tubes scattered across each counter. Torn pieces of paper litter on the floor, and I'm bending to pick one up when the lights shut off."-pg 49
In conclusion, I think that the setting descriptions on Allegiant really help to enhance the story and I think that they are very visual to help you get an idea of what it looks like in this novel.
Read Book Reviews, author Q&A, and Summary of Divergent on Amzon
•"It wasn't clean as it was in the days when it was the Erudite compound; now it is ravaged by war, bullet holes in the walls and the broken glass of shattered light bulbs everywhere. I walk over dirty footprints and beneath flickering lights..."- pg 4
•"This floor of the Erudite Headquarters is all glass, even the walls. Sunlight refracts through it and casts slivers of rainbows across the floor... A long narrow room with beds on either side. Next to each bed is a glass cabinet for clothes and books, and a small table."-pg 15
• "We reach the end of the lawn . The metal structure is larger and stranger up close than it was from far away. It's really a stage, and arcing above it are massive metal plates that curl in different directions, like an exploded aluminum can."-pg 26
•"Ahead of us is the Hancock building, and beyond it, Lake Shore Drive, the lazy strip of pavement that I once flew over like a bird. We walk the cracked sidewalk side by side, our clothes smeared with Edward's blood, now dry." -pg 41
•"I only find myself in a ransacked laboratory, beakers and test tubes scattered across each counter. Torn pieces of paper litter on the floor, and I'm bending to pick one up when the lights shut off."-pg 49
In conclusion, I think that the setting descriptions on Allegiant really help to enhance the story and I think that they are very visual to help you get an idea of what it looks like in this novel.
Read Book Reviews, author Q&A, and Summary of Divergent on Amzon
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