Jodi Piccoult

Throughout the book, Jodi Piccoult continued to amaze me with her sense of creativity and trickery. I started out reading one of her most famous books yet, My Sister's Keeper, in english class of the 9th grade. After reading that book, I fell in love with her style of writing. Mostly because she hits the topics that really apply to people my age and can connect with them in a really touching way. That book brought me to pick up another one also written by her called Songs of the Humpback Whale and after reading that I felt the exact same way as I did after the first. The reason why I pick her books out when I see them in the store is because I know that any book I read by her will automatically be enjoyable. After reading this last book, The Tenth Circle, I am now sure that it will always be true. In the beginning I was actually thinking that maybe this book wasnt going to be as good as all the rest but once I got into it, I now think that it might be even better than the previous ones. I can't wait to continue reading her books and advising others to do the same.

Outside reading end of book

The Tenth Circle is a book with many twists and turns to it. Throughout there were many things I saw that had obvious solutions and specific right answers. As the story progresses I found out that things are not always the truth; that things either arn't as they seem or are lies someone used to protect someone else. For example, we are convinced that Trixie has murdered her ex-boyfriend, Jason, because her hair, blood, and footprints are at the scene, she has run away, and there is no one else who I would expect to do it. In the end we figure out that Trixie confresses to her dad who takes the blame when the police find them. Her whole family, including her mom too, have confessed and are sent to jail until they can figure it out. When Daniel gets released, he walks to Trixie's mom's cell and explains that she will be out soon too. When we think everything is better and that Trixie will face the consequences, the story takes a major twist. Trixie's mom confesses to the murder and explains how. Trixie was just covering for her mom and made up the whole thing to protect her mom from going to jail. In this situation it seems that everything is going to be played out one way because it came as a shock that Trixie would even do that in the first place. The surprise distracts us from believing it could be any other way but after finishing the book and knowing how it ends, I realized how many aspects of foreshadowing were used. Throughout the book there were so many hidden things that are not interpreted the right way until the end. From the beginning it is known that the book will be filled with hidden meanings because of the words hidden throughout the pictures in the book, but not until after is it seen in the story and plot too. In my opinion, The Tenth Circle is a book definantly worth reading because of its use of great intellegence and trickery that makes it fun to read.

MEA Weekend

For our long holiday weekend I spent the time doing many different things. I went to a football game, hung out at a friends house, watched a movie, read, went to another friends house, read some more, got on an airplane where I read, flew to New Jersey to visit cousins, drove to New York and read in the car, went hiking in New York, read on the way back to New Jersey, watched some movies, got on and airplane and read again, and finally got home to read for the last time during my weekend of fun. The point if, you havent gotten it yet, is that I spent my whole weekend reading, except for the occasional fun hiking and movies. This weekend I realized that some books dont become interesting and hook you in until you get past the rising action and intro to the story. Before this weekend, I had (hate to admitt this) only read during the time we had to read our outside reading books every wednesday in class. I was regretting this on wednesday when I realized how much I still needed to read, but as the weekend went on I found that the reason I hadn't been reading is because I had never really gotten past the intro. On Thursday and Friday and Saturday and Sunday, I read a lot not only because I had to but also because the book finally started to become interesting. I think I finished atleast 3/4 of the book in this weekend alone. I learned this weekend that I just have to force myself to read the first couple chapters of the book once I get it so that I feel like I want to read it every week instead of feeling like I have to and then procrastinating. I learned this weekend that I need to find a new system.

Outside Reading

Trixie and her boyfriend have broken up, but Trixie doesnt want to let him go so she and her friend, Zephrus, get a plan together to make Jason jealous and want her back. They have a party at Zephrus' house and invite the whole boys hockey team; including Jason. While there, Trixie manages to flirt and do things with all the other boys that would potentially make Jason want her back. After everyone leaves, Trixie, Jason, Zephrus, and Jason's friend, Moss, decide to stay and play a game of cards. Being highschool kids, they raise the stakes and turn the innocent game into a much riskier game of strip poker which ends in Jason and Moss fighting and Trixie crying in the bathroom. When her father, Daniel, wakes up at the sound of her arrival home, he searches to find her curled up in the bathroom crying. She says, "he raped me." In this chapter of the book Trixie has the intention to only get her boyfriend back when her life is changed forever. The effects of her talking to the police and getting Jason arrested are shown in how she is treated at school a couple weeks after when she is brave enough to face her piers again. As she walks in she is greeted by name calling and pranks from the people she had once called her friends. We later find out that the story Trixie told to the police wasn't exactly the truth, but when explaining what really happened, things go from bad to worse. Her father who now has every intention to kill Jason at the first sight of him, must now hold back, thinking of his past and what it would do to him. It is not till after he hears Trixie screaming in the arms of him at the Winterfest does he really release his anger. The next day, a police officer winds up at their door explaining to Daniel what he had found. The news was surprising to everyone; Jason had committed suicide. At school the past few years a couple people have lost friends and family members for similar reasons. I think that there is no reason in life that peope feel the need to do that to friends or family or themselves for that matter. No one wants to have to deal with the pain and sorrow that occurs after an event like that. A book like The Tenth Circle really shows what impact something like that has on people and can teach us many things about life. We dont always know what people are going through because we havent experienced it ourselves, but hearing about it gives us a fraction of it and helps us understand.

Outside reading ... movie

As I was reading my outside reading book this week it occured to me that the book could be made into a movie. We have been talking about movies in class and in my opinion The Tenth Circle could easily be made into a movie that would be enjoyabe for girls and people in highschool. The plot would be exactly like the book's and the characters the same but there would be a bigger mental image of what really goes on at highschool. The setting and costumes for a movie like that would be very similar to what we hear about from the author. The elements would be the same, the way it is displayed would just be different. Trixie Stone's dad Daniel draws comics in the book so a movie could really show the meaning of his different works of art and skill. Trixie explains how she breaks a mirror in to pieces with so much detail that you truely have a vivid picture in your mind of what it would really look like. I think that making books into movies are just another way to transform a mental picture into a real one.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

How to Lose a guy in 10 Days is a movie I watched last week about two people in a bet with different friends who end up falling in love in the end. Its your classic chick movie that every girl loves and guys dread. While watching it i couldnt help but noticing all the things we talked about during class. The lighting of romantic parts was dimmed and set the mood of the scene where as parts of the movie where they were playing card games and laughing and having fun were more happy set and the lighting was very bright. Another thing I noticed was the music. Like with the lighting, the romantic parts had a calm soothing music and the happy parts had a music filled with excitement and well, happiness. The costumes and characters fit the movie's style and the actors were given rolls that fit what we think of them in real life. The drama of the movie related to the drama of celebrities and people in everyday life. The setting was that of a modern day city with all the parks and beautiful houses. It is definantly an enjoyable movie to watch, for girls atleast.

Soccer

With a soccer season there are times when you feel excited and times you feel sad and sometimes there are moments when you wish you were somewhere else. This weekend was our last game of the season and for a couple reasons, the emotions of everyone on our team were different. Some were saying they were glad it was over, others were sad. I think most of us were kind of angry though because we had to play our very last game 3 hours away in the city of Duluth. On the trip up there one of the girls was sick, another spent the whole time sleeping, and another doing homework. My status was socializing and watching the dvd player I was so intelligent to have remembered. In the end I guess I was excited to be able to spend our last bus trip together on a long trip we all had to face. The fact was, during the season a lot of us hadnt gotten along so well for whatever reason and were not always the perfect definition of a "team." The bus trip for me was just the end and resolution to a tramatic season. I felt as if it were the ending to a fairy tale where everyone was happy again, even if it meant ending the season. I think everyone felt the trip was worth it especially when we ended with a 3-0 win. Whoo!!

Outside reading 3

In the book, The Tenth Circle, Trixie stone has just seen her ex-boyfriend with another girl named Jessica. Immediatly, her friend, Zephrus, grabs her by the arm, discontinuing her staring gaze in their direction. She takes Trixie off campus to a place where they can talk and not be seen. Zephrus becomes the best friend that she can be and helps Trixie calm down. While reading this section of the book, I thought of the difference between having lots of friends and having one best friend. The difference is that a best friend knows everything there is to know about you and can help whenever. A group of friends are not always very close and dont know what you are going through when things happen. They dont care as much because there is more than just one person to worry about. In my opinion, I think a group of friends is important because there are many to help but within that group you should have one best friend because that person can help you specifically and care. In Trixie's life, her best friend Zephrus cares for her enough to help her through a tough time when everyone else just laughed.