Advice Letter to Juliet

Dear Juliet,
            I know life may be confusing right now, but it will get better. Romeo did do some very bad and violent actions that will change your life forever. It may be hard to get passed it, but you will. You have to see around it and remember the positive people, events and things in your life. Also remember that one bad mistake doesn't make someone a bad person. We all make mistakes in our life but we have to remember that no one is perfect. Think about how happy Romeo makes you, and how he makes you smile just thinking about him. This time will be hard to get over, especially since you lost your loved cousin, Tybalt. It won't be hard on just you, but it will also be hard for your family and Tybalt's friends so remember to comfort them as well as yourself. Surround yourself with people who make you joyous and that distract you, like Nurse. Lastly, put yourself in Romeo's shoes. Romeo was so overwhelmed by the loss of his best friend, so emotions overflowed him and made him take impulsive actions, for instance, killing your cousin. Romeo was overtaken by his feelings at the time and his anger drove him to do something that he knows he is going to regret for the rest of his life with you. I hope you get past the and you can mend your relationship with Romeo.

We all looked up

"We all looked up" by Tommy Wallach is a book about the end of the world. On the news, an astroid was reported to hit the earth and kill 2/3 of the population of the world.  Of course if it were the end of the world, people would freak out and do everything on their bucket list. In "We all looked up", Peter, Eliza, Andy and Anita only work on what needs to be fixed before their likely death in 9 weeks. They overcome their stereotypes, Peter being the perfect and charming jock, Eliza being the slut of the school, Andy being the slacker and Anita being the Nerd who doesn't mess up on anything. They discover things about themselves that they never knew was possible and break rules in order to get what the want. They live on the edge for the last weeks of their lives which taught them a lifetime supply of lessons.
 One important moment in the book was the end when ardor, which is the name of the astroid, was coming right towards the characters. That is an important moment because it is the last seconds of their life time so they do not care about anything anymore. The real version of themselves comes out. The last words and actions of someone says a lot about them because you say so many words and do so many things in your life and your last actions is like the concluding statement of your life. You don't want to end your life with a lousy conclusion, just like you don't want to with an essay. The characters last actions was laughing. "They laughed. The astroid was a little bit bigger now, brighter, and they went on laughing. Laughing in the face of what they couldn't predict or control or change." Everyone was laughing as ardor was coming towards them. I think that this means they thought it was ridiculous how their life was ending like this, so early. Too early. They also might have been laughing because they didn't know what to do, they were laughing out of nervousness. if you saw your death right in front of you, wouldn't you be nervous? They didn't know what to feel at the moment.
To conclude, the book gives a valid example of what kids close to my age would do at a deadly situation. Death is a very scary topic and puts all of your traits at task. People don't want to die at a low point. "We all looked up" taught me not to take life for granted because you never know when it will be cut short.

The Swap

Piper Livingston

804

In “The Swap” by Megan Shull, Jack and Ellie’s lives are switched by a school nurse for a whole weekend. Jack was in Ellie’s body and Ellie was in Jack’s body. They had to act like eachother so they wouldn’t give away that they were different people. They both learn about each other in so many different ways and by the end of the book, even if they were complete strangers three days before, they became very close. Being in someone else’s shoes can really change how you see other people. People act different around different genders and ellie and jack got to see the different sides of each other’s friends. They also understood the daily problems that they had to face. this changed them for the better because in some ways it made the grateful for what they had but also they learned how some other people’s lives differ from theirs. 

While Jack was in Ellie’s body, he went to a sleepover with a bunch of other girls, including Sassy Gaines, a girl that’s always flirting with him, and Aspen, Sassy’s bestfriend. At the sleepover, Sassy was acting bossy and selfish and treating her friends like they were her servants. Jack learned that the Sassy that flirts with him all the time is not the real Sassy. The real Sassy is a mean, selfish, nightmare who talks to her “friends” in a really rude way. This teaches the reader how sometimes people may not be who they seem. People change themselves sometimes because they think it might make certain people accept them or like them better. 

Throughout the book, Ellie realises how lucky she is to have a loving and caring mother. Jack’s mother passed away a year and a half before and his father is intense and normally seems like he has no heart. On the other hand, Ellie's mom makes pancakes every morning and hugs her when she comes him from school. While Ellie was in Jacks body, she noticed how different their parents are from one another and it made her miss hers drastically. This teaches the reader how you should not take the nice people in your life for granted because other people may not be treated the same way. Especially be grateful for your parents because they are the people you see everyday and they are almost like the controllers of your life. 

To conclude, Ellie and Jack learned more than they expected for one weekend. They learned important lessons such as don't take what you have for granted and if you want someone to like you, be yourself. These lessons are very important because they are some key traits to being a genuine and caring person. I learned from this book because reason about jacks strict family made me grateful. 

Brown Girl Dreaming

       In the book, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, Woodson writes a series of poems about her child hood. It's about what it's like to grow up in the 1960's and 70's as a young African-American girl. Jacqueline grew up in Soth Carolina and later on in the book moves to Brooklyn. At first Jacqueline was against the new life, new house and all, but after a couple months she found a friend named Maria. Once Jacqueline became best friends with Maria, she became happier and her life got less difficult. By the end of the book, Jacqueline turned out to to be a dreaming and bright girl. 

       Once Jacqueline discovered her passion for writing she stared to dream that one says he will be a writer. Since she had a goal, she had something to look forward to. She could think about the future instead of her hard past of her relatives dying and leaving her house. On page 217, Woodson zooms in on a moment of her writing an introduction to herself. ""But as I bend over my composition notebook, only my name comes quickly. Each letter, nearly printed between the pale blue lines. Then white space and air and me wondering. How do I spell introduce? Trying again and again until there is nothing but pink bits of eraser and a hole now where a story should be. " I love this part of the story because it  portrays how Jacqueline really cares about her writing. You can tell that Jacqyeline really feels a passionate way about writing. 

       On the last page of the book (320) Jacqueline writes how she wanted is/wants to become a writer when she grows up. I like how she added that because you can tell that she did since you are reading the book that she wrote when she is all grown up. It also concluded how Jacqueline grew up to have a good life and the perfection that she desired. 

Lock and Key

In the book, Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen, Ruby, and 18 year old girl, moves to a different town with her sister and brother in law because her mother abandoned her. She has to move into a completely different house, goes to a new school and has no friends in the area. She basically refreshed her life. Ruby struggles with this because she feel like an outcast. Later on in the book, she overcomes this anxiety and makes new friends. 

Family. This is a hard topic for Ruby to talk about. Her mother never cared for her and left her and her father was never in the picture. It seems to Ruby that everyone in the school has a "perfect family". A mother, father, sister and a brother. Ruby is currently living with her sister, Cora, and her husband, Jamie. This is why she feels like a misfit. On page 361, Ruby is at school and her teacher makes her and the rest of the class do an activity. The activity is supposed to be social and to learn new things about people. You pick a piece of paper out of an envelope that says one word and you have to talk about it. Ruby picks out a piece of paper that says "Family" on it. This makes her feel very uncomfortable and discluded. 

Although, at the end of the book, Ruby makes new friends and can even talk about her feeling with them. This helps Ruby become a more social person and more comfortable and suited with her new place she can call home. 

To conclude, Ruby started out as a shy, new girl in town but later she becomes apart of it. 

The Moon and More

Lots of people can't wait to settle down in a relationship, although they don't expect that most of the time it's not such an easy ride, there are going to be bumps in the road at some times. Sometimes you might be pressured to be someone else you're not or you might be tempted to cheat. In the story, The Moon and More, by Sarah Dessen, Emaline has to face a complicated and sudden break up with her boyfriend of three years, Luke. Right after the break up, she ends up with a writer from New York, Theo. Emaline also has to get used to dating Theo, who is smarter and more serious than Luke, who is relaxed and fun. Throughout the book, Emaline discovers a new perspective and tries out different things. Teens can relate to this book because whether it's a friendly or romantic, we all face confusing and complicated relationships.

In the beginning of the story, Emaline has been noticing that she and Luke have been distant. Shortly after, Like cheats on Emaline and they break up. This shows the reader how a relationship can go from “perfect” to nonexistent in a small amount of time. This also shows Emaline that even people that you're the closest to can end up changing. Even though Emaline is heartbroken, the situation helps her and the reader realize that it's easiest to move on. For instance, Emaline states “Sometimes I think of Luke and my heart feels heavy. Although, I find it easier to try to move on…” (98) My trying to move on, it shows the reader that rather than sobbing about the fact that you have broken up, it's easier to move on and think positively.

At the end of the story, the book shows the reader that the solution to a break up is to focus on more important things. For example, in the story when Luke and Emaline broke up, Emaline started to focus more on her family. Emaline had a more complex family than some people. Emaline’s mother had her when she was only eighteen years old. Emaline’s birth father left her when her mom when she was only a baby. Now, her birth father are coming to visit with her half brother and her mother is happily married to a different man. She decided to think about the people in her life that have always been there for her and to spend more time with them. On page 294, Emaline explains to her friend; “‘...my father and I can talk about what happened.’” This shows how now Emaline can do important things like resolving a problem instead of worrying about being in a relationship.

In conclusion, The Moon and More shows the reader how  relationships and breakups are, for the most part, stressful and difficult. Although, you can make light out of situations. I wish that teens who have never been in a situation like Emaline's read The Moon and More because that connect to Emaline and what she was going through. I also hope people who have never been in a relationship before read the book because it can show the reader what to expect.

Me as a Reader

    Hi my name is Piper and I enjoy reading. The only thing is, I don't read a lot. I'm usually really busy and don't really have time. When I do have time, I like to go on my bed with a blanket and read my current book that I'm reading. I especially like to read on a rainy day or at the beach because I find it relaxing. My favorite books to read are realistic Fiction because I find that it can be relatable or can have an interesting plot.  Although, I do like to try different genres. I really like some sci-fi books like the hunger games, divergent and miss peregrines home for peculiar children. I think that sci-fi is a cool way to predict what's going to happen in a couple years even though it can sometimes be alarming. 

My favorite type of reading is articles, mainly from magazines. I like how they're short but sweet. Articles are normally very interesting because in order to write an article it has to be exciting or people won't read it. I like the kind of articles that are are only 1-2 paragraphs because it's not overwhelming. 

I'm not one of those bookworms who you see reading at lunch or who begs their parents to let them stay up to read, but I really do like a good book.