So Zaphod got even crazier. The giant ship, Heart of Gold, well, he stole it. He threw a bomb into the crowd and made a run for the ship. Funny stuff! I don’t know what happened, though, because they jump around to the different characters situations. These twenty pages jumped back to Ford and Arthur. The two have now begun to hitchhike around the galaxy, and who did they get a ride from? The Vogons, rather frightening aliens who destroyed earth, and according to the guide, hate hitchhikers. The only reason they got on the ship was because of the Vogons’ cooks, the Dentrassis. These creatures love to annoy the Vogons, and what better way than to pick up a few hitchhikers??

Now the Vogons are the poor species who got beat really hard with the ugly stick. They had this really funny story about how their new sun just didn’t even bother to evolve them any farther because it was a hopeless cause, they’re the bullies. After they finished with abusing their planet, the moved on to bully and destroy other planets. They are also extremely terrible at writing poetry because, according to Ford, he would rather be thrown into space than listen to them read a poem.

There’s also this really cool thing Ford had called the Babel fish, and I just learned about Babel in CCD =). All you have to do is stick it in your ear (ewww) and it translates every language for you. I would love one of those. It would certainly make Spanish class easier.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide started to pick up a little bit, although I’m still not entirely sure where it’s going. The large yellow spaceships came into the sky, confusing everyone. It was the Vogons, who came to get rid of Earth for the intergalactic bypass. I love the irony of the fact that these huge things making a horendous noise are about to destroy Earth, and Arthur is freaking out about the fact that they are destroying his house. Ford, knowing of this attack, is prepared for travel. He has his towel, which The Guide says is the most important thing a galactic hitchhiker can have because you can use it for a lot of different things and it lets other hitchhikers know he is not one to be messed with. If someone has a towel, then it’s assumed they have everything else necessary for proper hygiene and survival, and he/she will lend that hitchhiker anything that was “lost.”

I also met the president of the galaxy, Zaphod Beetlebrox. He isn’t the real source of power, he’s only someone used to take attention away from where the power actually is, and it’s said he’s very good at his job. Only six people know that. Zaphod is a two headed, three armed “man” who is completely crazy and I love it!! Just at the end of my reading he hijacked a huge spaceship, the Heart of Gold. It makes me giggle at how the Galactic government may be similar to ours and is similar to just about everything else: you never know who really has the power.

For my next independent reading book, I’m reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It’s a pretty quick read with, in the words of my dad, “…absurd British humor in the style of Monte Python.” He wrote that on the inside cover of the book he bought me, and he pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one. It’s not my typical paranormal romance, but it’s a nice change to get me out of my genre rut.

I was incredibly confused at first, but it’s actually not that hard to understand. The first 20 pages introduce you to Ford who’s so serious he’s funny and kind of odd in an unexplainable way, Arthur who lays in front of bull dozers for fun and is Ford’s friend, and Mr. Prosser who is the descendant of Genghis Khan and is trying to tear down Arthur’s house with the bull dozers. I actually laughed out loud on more than one occasion. For instance, the exchange between Ford and Mr. Prosser for anyone who knows what I’m talking about. Ford is so serious Mr. Prosser doesn’t know what to do except take Arthur’s place and lay down in front of the bull dozer so he can leave with Ford. Fantastic! I also like that the author tells you absolutely everything you need to know about the characters (expository characterization =D). It’s another nice change to what I’m used to. If the whole book goes like this, I have a feeling I’m going to be getting in trouble for laughing out loud in the middle of class.

Today I finished Mockingjay, and I wanted to cry. Katniss’s squad, led by Boggs (who I really like) began their infiltration of the Capitol. First, they step into land mines that weren’t marked on the Holo (map) and Boggs died, but before he was gone he gave the lead to Katniss. They traveled through the sewers to avoid the pods which held “surprises” inside. The sewer wasn’t much better though. There were pods down there too, and when Snow discovered they still weren’t dead, he sent half lizard half people, mutts, after them. Somewhere around eight people died, including Finnik, a former victor, who I also really liked. But Gale, Peeta, Katniss, and two others made it into the Capitol’s center.

There was a pen of Capitol children in front of Snow’s house, and gift’s began raining down to the children from what was thought to be the Capitol. But the gifts began exploding, and when Katniss’s little sister Prim (who I love)went in to help th injusred children, she was killed too!! I almost started crying. Katniss learned that it was the rebels who let the bombs rain down, and Gale was one of the masterminds behind it. President Coin was thought to be the one to send Prim to the front line (that’s what Snow told her while he was jailed). So when the time came for Katniss to execute Snow, she shot Coin instead, which I did not see coming. Katniss was spared from execution, and after awhile, sent back to 12 to live basically alone (except for Haymitch). Peeta came back too, and I ended up liking him more than Gale after finding out what he did to Prim. And the two of them lived happily ever after (almost). A lot of other things happened in between, but you just have to read the book to understand. Too many things happened to write a full summary.

I really loved this book, but the ending was a major let down. It feels like the author just gave up and didn’t even try to end it. Basically, it was Peeta and Katniss had kids, the end. Gale didn’t even come back! That was a huge disappointment. He just dropped off the face of the earth, along with Katniss’s mother. I would have been even more upset, but Katniss should have killed herself like she was planning, or Gale should have killed Peeta, or vice versa. That would have made for a much better ending than Prim dying and Coin being assassinated. I still really enjoyed the book though, which is obvious after I read it in about three days. The trilogy has plenty of fantastic qualities, but it’s a shame it was the ending of the third book that sucked because it sure left a real sour taste in my mouth.

So, I got very into Mockingjay today and read around 200 hundred pages, and a lot happened. But the main stuff was as follows. Katniss has managed to unite all the districts against the Capitol, with only a few injuries along the way, and they saved the other tributes from the capitol. I was pretty excited to hear Peeta was alive, even though I like Gale better. What he did when he saw Katniss for the first time completely caught me off guard. He wrapped his hands…….around her neck and tried to kill her. Kill her! After he proclaimed his love for her, he tried to strangle her, and I didn’t understand why at first. The doctors then discovered that while he was held prisoner the capitol had tampered with his memories of Katniss and made her seem evil and mean. So, after he’s gotten somewhat better and was sent to war with Katniss, he still hates her.

I’m actually somewhat glad Peeta hates her because that gives Gale more room. But I have a very bad feeling Peeta is going to kill him, and if he does, I’ll cry, but I’m not really sure where this is going to go in the last 150 pages. The first two books (and this one) are so unpredictable; I can’t even begin to guess. I absolutely love it so far though. It makes me want to be Katniss in some ways, but in others, not so much. I’ll hopefully have the book finished soon, but at the same time I don’t want it to end! =(

Since Katniss decided to become the Mockingjay, she made some conditions to spare Peeta and the other tributes in case the rebels won. She also made sure Prim could keep Buttercup and she could kill President Snow, and president Coin agreed with all these. When she announced it to all of 13, Coin added that if Katniss stepped out of line, all the tributes and she would be killed. So now she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. In order to save Peeta, she has to do everything Coin tells her to do, and Katniss sucks at doing what she’s told. I have a very bad feeling that the leaders of 13 are going to take advantage of this, very bad feeling.

Also, they are going to remake Katniss in order to fit the Mockingjay image. Pluratch, the organizer of the game’s and rebellion, handed her a sketch book with her new suit and many other outfits. The book had belonged to Cinna, her make over man for the games. He had drawn the outfits before he died and in anticipation of her becoming the Mockingjay. So Fulvia, Pluratch’s assistant, took Katniss and Gale to a floor unknown to them before, where they found the other 3 members of her prep team chained to a wall, bruised, and half naked only because they stole a piece of bread. Now, that seems just a little bit ridiculous and unfair if you ask me, and I would rather live in the woods than in such a controlled environment. I feel really bad for all the people in 13, and something just doesn’t seem right about everything.

To start this book, Katniss went back to District 12 to view the wreckage. It was completely destroyed, except for the Victor’s Village where all the District 12 winners of the Hunger Games lived. After viewing the ash that once was her home, she went to her most recent home which was still standing. Inside, she found her younger sister’s, Prim, ugly alley cat inside, so she brought it back with her. Katniss also went into her room to get her dead father’s hunting jacket she always kept with her. While in there, she discovered a white rose on her white stand that was no doubt placed there by the president of Panem, President Snow, as a message that it’s not over and he was going to find her.

On the bright side, Peeta is still alive and in good health. He was on an interview with Ceaser, the host of the Hunger Games. He told him Katniss wasn’t involved in the rebellion and had no idea what she was doing, in an effort to keep her alive and out of trouble. Peeta also said there needed to be a cease fire, or the human race is going to kill each other off until there’s no one left. I did forget the pretty major details that before the second games, they lied and said that Katniss was pregnant to get Panem’s pity (I think) and their mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, betrayed them. So now, Katniss has decided to become the figure head of the rebellion, the Mockingjay.

For my next independent reading book, I’m going to read the third Hunger Games book, Mockingjay. It’s been a little while since I’ve read the second and first one, so I forget some of the minor details. I remember the main idea, though, which is all that really matters. I’ll give a brief back round of the first two books.

The series takes place in the future after an epidemic kills off more than half the world’s population. Everyone remaining was divided into the 12 Districts of Panem, and each district manufactured something different such as coal, clothes, fruit, ect. For entertainment, each district sent one boy and one girl into a giant “habitat” to fend for themselves and kill each other off. Whoever is the last one alive wins. Katniss, the main character won with Peeta (both from District 12). It was the first time 2 people won. The following year, all the winners of the previous hunger games were sent back into the arena. Katniss was used to end the games early. As result of the thwarting of the games, Peeta was captured and District 12 was bombed. But the survivals traveled to the newly developed District 13. And so began the rebellion against the Capitol, with Katniss as its figure head. It was very epic and there was a lot more to it, but that’s the gist of it.

I finished the book, and man was I wrong! In the last 60ish pages, every concept or idea I had was proved completely in correct. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. I love books that are unpredictable (like I said a million times before), but it’s kind of annoying. I felt pretty stupid once I finished because I didn’t see it coming, even though there’s no way I could have. So now, I’m going to try and give a short summery of how it ended.

Jenna finally remembered what actually happened the night of the accident. She wasn’t the one that had been driving the car, it had been Kara. They went to crash a party, but it was very violent so they got scared and left. Kara was shaken up on the way home, and she didn’t turn soon enough. They then went over the cliff and you know the rest. Also, I thought Kara and Locke didn’t have the opportunity to be saved, but they did. Jenna’s dad scanned their brains to start, but the parents wouldn’t let him anywhere near their children. I don’t blame them. So, hidden in Jenna’s parents’ room were all 3 of their brain scans, their lives, them, basically. Jenna wanted to get rid of them, so Lily (shocking) helped her. And their plan worked. At first, I didn’t like Lily at all, but I ended up agreeing with her on just about everything. Funny how that works.

Allys, who was completely against everything Jenna is, figured out what she was. And she said she was going to tell the FSEB. Then Allys wasn’t in school the next day, and Jenna started to panic. She wasn’t in school the day after that either. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. So, Ethan (love him) and Jenna went to visit her. And, as it turns out, Allys didn’t tell anyone except her parents because she was dying. Guess what her parents did? They showed up at Jenna’s house and asked her dad to save Allys. Talk about ironic fate!! Jenna and Allys lived for 260 years at least, and 70 of Jenna’s years were with Ethan. They had a little girl named Kayla too! Everyone also began excepting people like Jenna, and there were others like her who were designed to life that was about 200 years shorter.

Overall, I really really loved this book. The ending was a little too happily-ever-after for me, but I’m kind of glad it didn’t end like Flowers for Algernon. Something right in between would have been perfect. Not to lovey dovey, perfect world (because there’s no such thing), but not too depressing. It was still very addicting, and it had my romance! That’s all I really care about. I would highly recommend this book!

I finally found out what kind of accident it was!! It was a car accident, and Jenna’s two best friends, Kara and Locke, were killed in it. She looked it up on Mr. Bender’s Netbook because all the information was blocked from her own. It said that she had been the driver, but she hadn’t had a license. She was on a high way going too fast and the car went through the guard rail, rolled down a hill, and exploded, which explains the burns. Jenna felt guilty, and everyone told her it wasn’t her fault. It was just an accident. Something kept telling her that it wasn’t her fault, but it wasn’t an accident. She can’t remember what happened though.

So now I know why it asks “How far would you go to save someone you love?” on the front cover. Personally, I think her parents went too far. Yeah, I understand she’s their only child and they love her so much, but why would anyone want to do that to their kid? She’s never going to age, she has the chance of being found out and who knows what would happen, she can never tell anyone who she really is (even though she already did), she thinks she’s soulless and a freak, she’ll never be able to get married and grow old with someone, and she has to live with the fact that she’ll never be the same or remember her old self. Why would anyone put their child in such a dark, awful place? It’s also not right that she had the opportunity to be saved, but Kara and Locke didn’t. How fair is that? This time, I have to agree with Lily. They should have let go of her and accepted it was over, not turned her into “a monster”.

Okay, so a little after I did my last blog, I kept reading. Boy was I completely and totally wrong! Jenna was in an accident, and she was badly burned and had a raging infection (still don’t know what happened). I was right, however, about the BioGel thing. All of her insides are made if BioGel. She doesn’t have any organs, veins, not even a heart. Her father was only able to save enough skin to grow more in a lab and “the most important 10% of her brain,” the butterfly. They made her a brand new skeletal system almost identical to her old one. In California, she’ll be able to live for up to two hundred years, but she’s illegal. Very, very illegal actually. If anyone in the science community were to find out about her, bad things would happen to everyone involved.

I also found out why Lily has been so cold towards Jenna. She told her flat out she didn’t know what to make of her. Jenna is not the same little angel she and Jenna’s mom and dad worshiped and video taped every second of her life (which is why it has the title it does). Apparently, Lily also informed her that her mom had a program put in that would cause her to listen to what they tell her to do, which is just not right. But they told her it’s only a “strong” impulse, not a command. So now Jenna thinks of herself as a soulless monster. But Ethan to the rescue!! She told him everything, and he said he didn’t think she was a monster, she was perfect. Yeah, I just keep loving this book more and more and more!!! It’s suspenseful, romantic, and VOLUPTOUS, just the way I like it =)

As I read further and further into this book, I just love it more. I keep learning more and more about what science has done in the “future.” Apparently, scientists were releasing tons of antibiotics before they passed inspection, and one of them resulted in millions of people dieing from a terrible virus, kind of like the Black Death. Also, Jenna’s dad is the creator of something called BioGel. This blue goo is filled with neurochips smaller than the human cell, but they communicate and learn more, faster. So, I’m guessing Jenna was his experiment, kind of like Charlie Gordon. She’s also, so far, a success, like Charlie, but hopefully her story doesn’t end quite as bad as his.

I was also very pleased because I was right about Ethan and Jenna!! They’re, rather quickly, becoming closer and learning more about each other. I love it!!! Claire, Jenna’s mom, was tormenting her about Ethan being her boyfriend, but Lily flipped out about the thought. Maybe Jenna has a purpose to serve…… yeah, I think that’s it. She was “altered” for some kind of purpose, which is still pretty messed up.

Alright, I really need to do some catching up on this book. It’s very addictive and I’m on page seventy-ish now. First, Jenna went outside for the 1st time. She visited her neighbor, Mr. Bender, who is an artist. They chatted for a little bit, then the two went into his backyard to feed the birds, but none of them would land on her hand. Very strange. After the visit she went for a walk through the woods. She was crossing a small creek when she slipped and fell on a rock, and had a flash back to when she was two and she almost drowned, but her grandma saved her. She also remembers her two best friends, Kara and Locke. And Grandma doesn’t hate her; she just doesn’t have time for her. Nice right?

Jenna is also attending a local charter school now. The story takes place in the future by the way. There is much scientific advancement, such as the one girl in her class, Allys. She has prosthetic arms and legs that are very real looking. There are only 6 people in the school including Dane, who is a dangerous neighbor according to Mr. Bender, and a real jerk. There’s also Ethan, who I love. He’s such a sweet heart and he’s adorable. And Jenna is ridiculously smart. She can recite Walden by heart, and she knows facts about almost every place and historical event. Also very interesting….

I really really love this book. It’s so good. It’s very suspenseful, mysterious, and I’m feeling a little romance between Jenna and Ethan coming too. That’s my criteria for an amazing book. I’m also starting to have an idea about what Jenna is. Her mom told her it was a car accident and a coma, but I don’t think so. I believe her parents wanted their “perfect child” so they operated on her brain and made her a genius who listens to everything they say. Jenna can never seem to overcome the feeling of wanting to please her mom and grandma. If I’m right, that’s pretty sick and twisted if you ask me.

The book I chose for independent reading is called The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. I’m only a little over 20 pages in, and I already love it. It’s told from Jenna’s point of view, who is a 17-year-old girl that just woke up from a year long coma and remembers nothing. She has to relearn how to walk, talk, simple things like that which she does within the first couple days. But she doesn’t remember anything about herself. So, as the reader, your kind of left in the dark. I love it. I’m so curious to see what happens, especially with a mysterious character like Lily, who is her grandma. I don’t typically think of grandmas as being mean, rude, and so cold towards their granddaughters, but that’s pretty much how Lily acts towards Jenna. It’s also very curious that her parents moved away from their jobs in Boston to California, and when Jenna asks her mom, she describes her answer as “practiced.” She also said, “There was something about her eyes. Eyes don’t breathe. I know that much. But hers look breathless.” I LOVE this line, and I’m very curious to read what happens next.

I will answer question 1
There are many different things that I loved about Rebecca. One thing was the romance. I adore books with romance in them and I kind of wished it had a little more, but it was still there so that's all that really counts. I also loved the way Daphne Du Maurier described things. She made the book so much more personable and easy to relate to which I always enjoy. A third thing i liked was how incredibley unpredictable it was. Every thing i tried to come up with as a guess to what would happen next was wrong. A predictable book is never any fun, so I'm glad she wrote it the way she did ☺

The quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes has e very distinct meaning to it. The author means that no book has one set meaning to it. the book will mean a something different to each person that reads it, or bring up different experiences someone has lived through. He then compares this to music. Everyone also gives song lyrics a different meaning and it's the same situation with books. No person looks at books in the same light.

This quote more relates to the book Rebecca. Both Brianne and I read the book and I will probably find think differently about it what she does. It made me think of how my brother and sister fight like Maxim and Beatrice and it was about probably the worse scenario you can get when you marry a man who "lost" his wife. Well that second part may not be the meaning but more like the plot although after reading it, I don't think i am ever going to marry a man who was previously married and his wife died. Just in case he happened to be a similar man to Maxim. I would most likely not handle that well.

I am incredibly confused!!! I finished Lord of the Flies and I kind of understand what happened but not really. The end was God by Machine which I don't know how to spell in Latin but it's like Dais ex mockion. Yeah let's go with that. Would anyone care to explain the parachuet man? I have no clue who he was, what he had to do with the story, why he was even on the story, and how he helped. Isaac? Miss K? I know you guys know. If you don't want to know, don't read the comments. Just a heads up. But the book was good I will suggest it to people who like that stranded on an island kind of stuff. I'm reading The Hobbit now and it's pretty good so far too, even though I'm only on page 8......

Ok so I'm almost done with Lord of the Flies. It's pretty good, but its kind of confusing. I liked Rebecca a little more because it was more relateable. I can't say the same for Lord of the Flies but maybe it's just me. It's taking me longer to read than I expected too. All I really want, though, is for who ever has that book I want to finish!!!!

Here is my soundtrack for Lord of the Flies:
Stayin Alive by the Bee Gees
A bunch of kids get stuck on an island and do whatever they have to to survive
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
All the kids on the island are trying to have faith that they will survive while stranded there
Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi
Everyone is trying to stay sane and think about being rescued
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
It reminds me a lot of when the hunters go out to hunt for pig and become a little savage
I'm sure there are a ton of other ones that could be associated with this book, but i can't think of them. I'm not very good on the creative side

I finished "Rebecca" and it didnt take me very long. I loved it!! It was completely unpredictable even when i tied to expect the unexpected. It made me angry. But I did catch on at the end and guessed right what was going to happen. I won't say because that just wouldn't be nice. I really hate that jerk Jack Favell and Mrs. Danvers is as creepy as they come. All that's left to do now is watch the movie. Miss K says it's really good and i hope it is. I hate when movies are nothing like the book...

In C.S. Lewis's quote, I believe he means that books only add to our life. Some people may think that literature only describes the things we already know, but it actually gives us more than what we have. Books add to the skills we need to live out our lives. They enhance our imagination, and sometimes even our ways of handling certain situations. The quote also describes how our lives may be boring and mechanical, but books can add more fun and excitement to them.
The book that I read, "Rebecca," relates to this quote because of the ways it changed my point of views on things. It also added much more excitement, to the point that it made my head hurt. "Rebecca" is an extremely good book most likely one of the best ones I've read, even though it made me verrrrry angry.

My answer to question 1- The book I chose was "Rebecca." I decided to read this particular book because of the description Miss K gave me. She informed me that it was a exciting, sort of creepy, fast paced novel with a little bit of romance. I always love a good bit of romance. What fun is it if there isn't any? She also told me that there were multiple twists in the story which is another thing I love. A book is no fun if it is predictable.

My answer to question 2- The challenges I'm most likely going to face throughout the course of this book is the fact that it's on a high school reading level. So i may have problems with vocabulary, and hopefully the vocab sheet we have to do will help me. Another issue I may face is being able to comprehend it well. Hopefully Miss K will help me with that.

Hi. I'm Madison and this is my blog. I have no idea what book im going to read yet, but i have a few ideas. I really hope they're good books. I'm not the biggest fan of classics. Hopefully one of them will change my mind......