TKAM - Post #4: Chapters 12-15

Perspective: Scout

Dear Diary,

Today, Calpurnia took me and Scout to her church. Before we left the house to head to the church, Calpurnia dressed us up in real nice clothing and Scout and I asked why we had to wear such fancy outfits. Calpurnia said that she didn't want anybody to think that she didn't take care of her children. When we got there, everybody welcomed us except for a woman names Lula. At the church, Scout and I noticed something about Calpurnia that we hadn't known she did. She was talking like all the other folks around her. At home, she would speak perfect English and had perfect grammar but at the church, she was different.

When Aunt Alexandra moves into our house, Scout and I didn't like her at all. She was so bossy and Scout and I didn't like the way that she was yelling at Atticus. She was telling him how to raise Scout and I. Scout and I don't like her at all.

When Scout asked if she could go to Calpurnia's house on a Sunday, Aunt Alexandra just has to stick her little nosy face into other peoples' business and say that Scout can't go. Just because Calpurnia is 'black'. Scout turns around and tells Aunt Alexandra that she never asked her and Atticus makes her apologize because he thinks it is rude. After all the fussing, Scout and I got into a fist fight because I just told her to not try and be such a smart aleck in front of Aunt Alexandra. She hit me first and so I hit her back. After several minutes, Atticus came in and separated us and told us to go to our rooms. We did. We went to our rooms and Scout stepped on something and called me over to see what it was. She thought it was a snake but I told her that snakes were cold, not warm. Turns out, the thing that Scout stepped on was Dill. Dill ran away from home because he says that his parents are really nice to him, but they don't really want him to be around. They buy everything he wants to keep him away.

Sincerely,
Jem

TKAM Post #3: Chapters 10-11

Perspective: Atticus

Dear Diary,

Today, I had to shoot a Mad Dog. It had rabies and it was foaming at the mouth. It was also shaking and twitching like crazy. I really didn't want to cantankerously kill it. When I had shot the dog, Jem and Scout looked at me with amazement and they were inaudible. They didn't know that I was One-Shot Finch. Probably because I am a lot older than all of their friends' fathers. Oh well. But back the the dog. Jem and Scout found the dog while they were outside exploring with their air rifles and soon spotted the Mad Dog. They told Calpurnia and Calpurnia called me on the telephone.

When I arrived to my front porch, I spotted the dog was in front of the Radley House. Jem started to come out of the house, and I told him to stay inside because there could be peril. A while after I shot the dog, Zeebo came and took the dog away in a garbage truck, then Zeebo poured something from a gallon jug to where the dog had been laying.

A couple days later, Jem goes and ruins Mrs. Dubose's flowers. I bet he was trying to make them very inconspicuous. He did this all because he has gotten sick of her and says that he hates her. But when Jem is ruining the flowers, she catches him and makes Jem read to her for weeks. Contemporary, Mrs. Dubose dies from being a drug addict. She was an addict of morphine. She had been taking them for several years because her doctor put her on the medication. When Jem finds out she is dead, he is very upset because even though he said that he hated her, he still had a soft spot for her.

Sincerely,
Atticus Finch

TKAM - Post #2: Chapters 4-9

Perspective: Scout

Dear Diary,

I was walking home one day alone, because Jem had to stay after to finish some school work. While I was walking home, I had planned to pass the Radley House with evasion and back to the front porch. But when I was running home, something had caught my eye. It was a piece of gum. I took it home and licked it. When I realized that I wasn't dead, I shoved the piece of gum in my mouth. When Jem got home, he told me to spit it out and rinse my mouth. I had a slight feeling that he was jealous and he had wanted some. After the gum incident, Dill had arrived. We went outside and were talking about Hot Steams. Which are ghost-like things that wrap around you to turn you into one when you die. When I heard Jem saying this to Dill, I was in disbelief. I told Dill to not believe it, then Jem changed the subject to play with a tire. I told Jem that I wanted to go first, so I climbed into the tire and tucked my knees up to my chest. After I got in, Jem pushed me in a malignant manner, I was suffocating and I couldn't get out because it was spinning so fast. I could hear Jem yelling behind me and yelling. Soon, I had hit a curb. I climbed out and shook my head to get away from all the dizziness. When I got a hold of myself and I could see straight, I heard Jem calling from a distance. "Get away from there! Are you crazy?" I looked up and saw that I was in the gates of the Radley House. I stood up and ran as fast as I could. I didn't even stop to get the tire.Soon, after all the tire bumping, Jem and Dill had decided to make up a game that basically reenacted all the stories about the phantom living inside. Atticus catches us one day and asks us what we are doing and Jem got red in the face and started to teeter in place.

We were over at Ms. Maudie's house again, and her and I were sitting outside on the porch looking up at the stars. After a while, I asked her if she knew that Boo Radley was alive. She said, that he was still alive and inside. The only evidence that she had to support her theory was that he hadn't seen anybody carry out his body yet. The next day, Jem wants to give a letter to Boo asking him to come out of the house to get some ice cream and meet him. At first, I didn't want to go at all. I thought it was a bad idea. But when Dill and Jem said that I was acting like such a girlie-girl, I just had to go. When Jem was about to put the letter through a window, Atticus spots us and makes his way over to us and asks us what we are doing. Atticus tells Jem to stop tormenting Boo and he also questions Jem about why he wants him to come out and Jem replies that he just wants to meet him.

In a couple days, I wake up, and I see that there are white flakes on my window and outside on the road and on the front porch. I was in perplexity I just had to call Atticus. It looks like the world is going to end! But Atticus tells me that it is just snowing. Jem and I walk outside and we see that all of the neighbors around us look very angry. Mr. Avery goes up to us and tells us that it is bad children like Jem and I that make the seasons change.

Sincerely,
Scout

TKAM - Post #1: Chapters 1-3

To Kill A Mockingbird
By: Harper Lee
Perspective - Miss Caroline

Dear Diary,

Today, was the first day of the school year. I was hoping that today would be and easy day where everybody just got along and everything was running smoothly. But no. There just had to be one kid that just kept getting on my nerves. Her name was Scout Finch. She talked so much. She spoke something about this other student named Walter Cunningham. It seemed like she knew everything about him and his family. I hope you doesn't know anything about me. She talked for a long time! After a short period of time, she talked again. This time, she annoyed me so much, I couldn't help but to hit her with a ruler and have her stand in a corner. That punishment should hush her up for a while.
She was taught to read and write. She shouldn't be taught to read yet, or taught to write. You are supposed to learn to write in the 3rd grade. Her father should let us teachers teach his child.

Sincerely,
Caroline

Novel Partners Wrap - Up

Devon Lee

March 2nd, 2011

Written Book Review

The book that I have read for the past month is called, Tears of a Tiger. By, Sharon M. Draper. The genre of this book is realistic fiction because, all of these events can happen in real life but there are things that can be fictional. A topic that was addressed quite a bit was Keisha. Keisha was the main character, Andy’s girlfriend. They broke up because they both were over-reacting. They were using stupid reasons to break up.
I think that the characters are really interesting because they each have a very interesting role. I would recommend this book to people that like to read about real life stories and things that are dramatic. This novel has things that are very true about people like how people may over react because they are so angry. There are some people that would hate it too. The people that would hate this book are people that like books that get right to the point, because this book, in the beginning, is boring. That is just my opinion. The first few pages are really good! But the next pages were very boring to me.
I think that a character that is not described very much but is very important is the therapist. Specifically, Andy’s therapist. I think that this character is important because the therapist always is trying to help and solve Andy’s problems. I think that showing support for this partner is important because Andy is always being looked down upon by the whites. They think he can’t do anything, and that he and his friends are stupid. But they are actually really smart but they only play dumb because that is what everybody expects from them.
I personally really liked this book because it reminded me to never discriminate against anybody just because they are different. I think that everyone is different anyway and unique in their own way. I respect that a lot. I hope that everyone that reads this novel and this review learn the same.

Novel Partners - Post #3

Tears of a Tiger
By: Sharon M. Draper

What does this book remind you of in your own life? Why?
This book reminds me of the the people around me that have been in relationships. Especially the part in the book that tells me that Andy and Keisha have broken up. I was very shocked when they broke up just because they got into a small argument. They both could have done different things. Andy could have watched his temper and Keisha shouldn't have taken it so seriously.

Which character would you like (or not like) to be your friend? Why?
I would like to be Rhonda's friend because she really cares about other people and she really looks out for Keisha. She also looks at both sides of the story so she wants to be sure about the things she is saying.

How did what you read today make you feel? Why?
What I read today made me feel like I was lucky to have the things that people need and I have sort of taken it for granted. Things like life and just enjoying it. Keisha and Andy lost some fun in life just because the chose to argue over something silly.

Novel Partners - Post #2

Tears of a Tiger
By: Sharon M. Draper

What does this book remind you of in your own life? Why?

This book reminds me of the people that underestimate people just because they are different from the other people around them. For example, in the novel, Andy and his friends feel neglected because they are a different skin color. They say the Whites, all have good grades and that whenever the teachers ask them questions in class, he notices that the teachers always ask them the easiest questions. In my own life, the book reminds me of underestimating because some people think that I can't achieve something either because I'm a girl or that I am young. But they don't even know enough about me to say those things.

What character do you like most in this book and/or what character do you like least? Why?

My favorite character is Andy because he I think has the most strength in the book because all the teachers act like hes stupid and sometimes his girlfriends treats him... hot very well. But I really like Andy as a character. I really dislike the teachers, even though they aren't major characters. They always act like Andy and his friends can't do anything right.

What I would do.

If I were in Andy's situation, I would try and really prove the people that think he and his friends are stupid, wrong. In one part of the book, the teacher asks Andy if he had done his poem for homework. Andy thought that his teacher was expecting a dumb answer so he said he hadn't done it. When he had actually finished the assignment and was in his backpack. If I were Andy, I would turn it in and really try to answer all the questions that are asked him in class by the teacher.

Novel Partners - Post #1

Tears of a Tiger
Sharon M. Draper

This book caught my attention from the first page. It was sort of like reading a script than reading sentences. It made me feel like I was standing there next to them witnessing the whole conversation. Another benefit of having the novel being written in a script format, is that I feel a lot more involved. I feel more involved because in the real world, people don't say anything with a complete sentence. They say cut sentences. That's what the author does in this book. They write like they would talk.

I really like that they did this because it helps me understand the book a lot easier and a lot more than a book that has really big words that are nowhere near my vocabulary range. But I also like books with big words because they expand my vocabulary but I would rather understand what the book is telling me first.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes sports and a lot of things going on in their books.

Book Review

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

By: Mark Haddon

In reading, I think that the biggest thing that catches my attention is the meaning, or plot. I think that the meaning in this book is that you should never stop just because you see an obstacle. The main character, Christopher Francis Boone, had gone over many obstacles throughout the novel. He has pretty mush solved a murder crime with a dog named Wellington, and went all the way to London to find his mother.

I would recommend this book to anybody that loves mysteries. But there are also lots of things that happen when you really want to know what will happen next. This book kept me reading. One I started reading; I honestly couldn’t help but read on to find out what was going to happen. Well, until I got to the next chapter.

The characters in this book were, the main character, Christopher, Christopher’s father, Christopher’s mother, Christopher’s friend, and Christopher’s neighbor. Christopher’s father’s name is not mentioned in the novel, it only says Father. And same with Christopher’s mother. It only says Mother. Christopher’s friend is named Siobhan. And Christopher’s neighbor is named Mrs. Shears.

Since I’m trying to convince you to read this amazing book, i should probably tell you a little bit about the book. The first thing that happens is that, a dog, named Wellington has been murdered. Christopher loves dogs. But he also has a disability where he cannot eat anything yellow or brown, and he cannot eat food if they are touching on his plate. Because Christopher loves dogs so much, he decided to investigate. Later on, they find out who kills Wellington, I will leave that up to you to find out who does the crime. Wellington belonged to Mrs. Shears. Another thing that happened was that Christopher finds out that Father has just been saying that Mother was dead. She was actually in London.

A thing that made me want to read this book was that, it had a very interesting name, and I also really wanted to find out what the curious incident was. Another reason was because it had an award, so I knew it was going to be a good book.
I recommend this book to people that love crime investigations, and mystery. I like this book because it kept me reading, which is very hard for people like me who don’t like reading at all. Another reason why I liked this book was because it has a really good meaning , or plot to it. Never let any obstacles get in our way.