Explain what you plan to read next and why (Be specific).

     The book I am reading right now is Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau. It is the second book in this trilogy. It is about a seventeen year old girl named Cia Vale who underwent a brutal Testing; there was love, loss, betrayal, and murder. But thanks to a government-issued memory wipe, she forgets it all and begins her studies at the University. But her bright future is threatened by the past when she begins to have violent nightmares, which are actually memories of what happened during The Testing. These memories cause her to question all that has happened in the past few months, and what is still going on.
     The next book I plan to read is the third book of the trilogy, Graduation Day. That is because I really want to know what happens next. Charbonneau ends the book with a cliff hanger, "...I know I will do everything in my power to keep the hope of our country and those who struggled for it alive. And that's when I hear it. The sound of static. A muted voice. It makes me want to cry with relief and fear. 'Cia. Are you there?' Tears threaten as I lift the Communicator out of the bag and answer, 'Yes, I'm here.' I just hope I am ready for what comes next," (Charbonneau, 310). By ending with "I just hope I am ready for what comes next," you want to know what actually will happen next. You wonder how far she will go to do what is right.

Text-to-Society

     The book I'm reading is A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. It is about a young boy whose village was attacked by rebel forces, causing him to become separated from his mother, father, and little brother. He then travels from village to village looking for a place of refuge, with his older brother and a handful of friends But some horrible things happen to the group, and Ishmael is forced to become a child soldier. He does not like what he is doing until he sees one of his friends die while fighting. It is like something inside him died, causing him to become heartless. He has the choice to either kill or be killed, and he chooses to kill. Three years later, when he is sixteen, Ishmael is removed from the war and brought into a rehabilitation center for child soldiers. It is there where he learns to care and love again, to regain his lost humanity.
     The realization that I gained from reading A Long Way Gone is that almost everyone can be saved if you give them a chance.  In the beginning, the children don't like the rehabilitation center. They disobey what the leaders (of the rehabilitation center) say and fight often. They even trashed what they were given. But over time, the children begin to calm down and actually listen. Eventually, they are allowed to travel outside of the center, and even go live with family (if there is anyone available). 
     This realization also occurs in prisons. Some prisons have a program that provides education, rehabilitation and reentry support to incarcerated men and women in prisons and jails throughout the United States. These programs offers prison inmates encouragement and the necessary support to take stock of the life experiences that have propelled them into criminal activity, take responsibility for their criminal behavior, change life-long patterns of violence and addiction, and build productive lives (2014 The Lionheart Foundation). A rehabilitation program is also available to people recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, people with stress and/or anger management, and people who need help with life skills. When given the chance, most people will take it and try to become better or go back to their life the way it was before it became ruined.

http://lionheart.org/prison/ 

The best thing about my book is…

     The book I am reading is The Queen of Zombie Hearts. It is about a group of kids who all have a special sight that allows them to see and kill zombies. They kill them by separating from their bodies and summoning fire from their souls. But there is one girl who is more special than everyone else, even though she just learned that zombies were real and what she was capable of doing. Her name is Ali, and she would do anything to protect the ones she loves. She would even die for them.
     The best thing about my book is the sarcasm and humor involved in it. All the characters are extremely sarcastic and have a great sense of humor. There are parts of the book that I just want to keep re-reading because of the great first impact they had on me. And there is a lot of action in my book, seeing as they kill zombies and all.
     "I rolled my eyes again. I rarely left his presence without giving him five good ones. 'Whatever. This subject is closed Barbie, so you can either shut it now or lose your tongue.'
He didn't shut it. Of course. 'Barbie? That's the nickname you pick for me?'
'Hate it?' I asked with a smirk. A girl could only hear 'cupcake' so many times before she had to strike back.
'Absolutely love it...'" (Showalter, 29). Their easy banter is both humorous and loving because you can see how at ease they are with each other and how they are all practically brothers and sisters.
     "I laughed bitterly. Had Anima made a list of all the ways to torture us before ending us? Kill their friends one by one. Pit them against zombies while they're mourning. What would they do next? No. Here was a better question: What would I do next? I was still in this game, still a force to be reckoned with - still capable of doing damage to their forces. I straightened, palmed my axes. Cole pounded down the remaining steps, a .44 in one hand, a dagger in the other. The rest of us weren't far behind, our determination a palpable force. Today, it wasn't kill or be killed. It was simply KILL," (Showalter, 135). I like how within the quote, you can see what a tight bond their group has. They would literally die for each other, and you can easily see that. If you mess with one of them, you mess with all of them.

The most important line from a chapter is… (and explain why it is important and how the plot develops from that line)

     The book I am reading is The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. It is about a boy and his mother; two different races within one family who love each other dearly. His mother didn't believe in racial discrimination. She even ended up marrying a black man, who she loved with all her heart and didn't care what people had to say about it.
     The most important line of chapter 13 is, "Mameh came up to me in the store a couple days later while I was standing behind the counter and placed the bracelet on the counter. Real quiet. just placed it on the counter and limped back to her little chair by the door where she always sat in her apron, sorting and stacking vegetables. 'Why don't you go to New York this summer to see your grandmother?' she said," (McBride 114-115). This line is the most important because it shows that her mother had her back, no matter how much Ruth didn't believe so. Her mother knew that she was pregnant and could have told her father, which would have resulted in a beating and maybe even worse. But she didn't tell a soul; her mother knew what was best for Ruth and didn't tell a soul. As a daughter, this makes me feel proud and elated that her mother understood what Ruth was going through. I know that I have a great relationship with my mom and would expect her to do the same thing. And even though they don't have the best mother-daughter relationship, you can see how much her mother loves her.

Write a post about a dynamic character and support how that character has changed throughout the text, providing textual evidence as support.

      The book I just read was No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz. A dynamic character in the book is Lexi Ross. She is the senators' daughter and a huge computer geek who doesn't have many friends. She also had a very bad self image. She just wanted to blend in, another face in the crowd. Lexi lacks self confidence, and the little she does have is when she is working with computers.

      In the beginning of the book, she and her family go to the mall for a 'Family Day'. But she doesn't want to go. She would rather be at home with her one friend, Darren, playing computer games. Later on, when Lexi is working on a movie project in the Apple Store, a popular girl from her school, Ginger, who has never talked to her before compliments her on how amazing it looks. "Lexi felt a smile break out across her face. She knew her work was amazing. Compared with some of the amateur stiff on YouTube, her clips looked professional. But it was one thing to think it to herself and another algorithm entirely to have one of the most popular girls at her school utter the words," (Lorentz, 21). This helps to jump start Lexi's confidence and improve her self image. And since she doesn't have much experience with making friends, Lexi thinks this will be the start to a great friendship, like the one she has with Darren. "Last night, Lexi felt the same connection with her that she had gaming with Darren," (Lorentz, 45). As the book goes on, you start to see her confidence grow and self image improve. She isn't afraid to stand out and be extraordinary. "...and Lexi had slid on her stomach all the way down a bowling lane, knocking over the pins with her head...," (Lorentz, 146). Overall, Lexi changes a lot throughout the book, for both good and bad.