Beauty Queens Susan Lester

           The book, Beauty Queens, written by Libba Bray tells the story of a bunch of girls, who signed up for a beauty queen contest, but have no idea what they had got them selfs into. On the way to their paradise, their plane crashed on an deserted island. Throughout the book it switches narration from all of the other girls perspectives. There's Taylor, a typical blonde beauty from Texas who takes charge on the island, and Adina a girl who only joined to prove a point, to show that beauty queens are just girls with a pretty outside, but are horrible people for little girls to look up to, and also Shanti an indian girl who feels like she is acting fake, and doesn't belong and unlovable. They all deal with problems, some personal, some of the problems are just overall about the plane crash.

           Adina, one of the many girls who is stranded on the island, has many problems. One of her problems is that she wants to be the person who is in charge of all the girls on the island, but they all like Taylor better, so they choose her. Adina gets horribly upset with this because she has more skills, academic wise, and has much better ideas but all the girls want to go with Taylor's plan because she is very glamorous. Taylor wants to still practice their beauty queen routines, so that when they get off the island, they are prepared. Adina deals with that not so well, she lashes out at people. Adina's main idea is to keep everyone safe, and survive, because they might never live to get off this island. Adina also struggles with fitting in with all of these girls. All they care about it beauty, or thats what she thinks anyway. The only reason why she joined was to expose them, but what was the point now? She hadn't planned on making any friends there, but now given the situation, some friends could come in handy. She deals with this by finding one of the many girls, and stays with her since she is nice. She also stays with her because she understands her. Shanti on the other hand fits in quite well, on the outside. She may act like a beauty queen, but she doesn't feel like it. She is "Ms. California," and everyone from her perspective from california are all blonde, and she feels like she doesn't fit in. She joined this to see if she fit in somewhere, if people around the world would make her feel a little less of an outcast. Not to mention that her coach for the pageant told her she wasn't lovable. Thats a huge factor of the beauty pagent, you have to be lovable so the judges will love her. She makes up traits to make her sound more lovable, but that isn't her actual traits, and she feels as if she is is lying to herself. How can she be lovable if she doesn't love herself? If she isn't acting like herself?

       Overall, everyone has different problems. Even if your in a similar situation which in this case was being stranded on an island, you may be dealing other things. I thought it was brilliant of Libba Bray to make this point because instead of focusing on how they may die from being stranded on an island, she focuses on how it brings out the actual them. Not the person they pretend to be so the patent judges will love them. And in Adina's case she learns that pageant people aren't bad, and they have actual skills that will help them in future.

         

                                                 Before I Fall  Response Susan Lester 809

                  Teens have many relationships, with their friends, their boyfriends or girlfriends, their parents, and sometimes all of these relationships, aren't good ones. In the book, Before I Fall, written by Lauren Oliver, is about a girl named Sam who lived a life of an unpopular girl until she was in 7th grade. In 7th grade the most popular girl, Lindsay took her under her wing and made her popular. That meant she was able to have any boy of her dreams, and live the life she wanted. Her three best friends, Elody, Ally, and Lindsay rule the school, and to go along with her perfect life she has a perfect boyfriend, Rob. Well thats how it seems anyway. Throughout the book you realize that Sam's relationships with her friends and boyfriend, aren't that great. There are many flaws in them.


                Sam and her friends are the most popular people in the school. Every girl envy's them, their popularity, their friendship, but really, they don't have any idea how bad their friendship is. Before Lindsay and Sam started becoming friends, she teased Sam constantly. She teased her and chanted, "Whats white and red all over? Samantha Kingston!" She even got the other kids to tease her about it.   Lindsay also sometimes, even though they are friends now, teases her about when she use to go horse back riding. Lindsay would say, "Oh, you love the woods, right Sam? You and your little horsie would go there a lot." Even though she was joking, it still really hurt Sam. She loved horseback riding. Throughout the book she would have flashbacks of when she was younger, and it would be her and her horse. She would mention how it would be so peaceful with her and her horse, and she said how much she enjoyed it, it sounded like she liked it more than her real friends. That shows how there relationship was bad, almost as if it is a fake relationship. Its better to have real friends, than fake ones that are popular.  Her friends aren't the only bad relationship she has, she also has a very bad relationship with her boyfriend, Rob. Sam use to be obsessed with Rob ever since she was in the 3rd grade, and when they started dating, it felt unreal. But as she started to get to know him more and more, she started to realize he isn't such a great guy. He gives sloppy kisses, always accuses her of cheating, and takes her for granted. But she stays with him anyways because he has been her life long crush. I think that Sam definitely liked her life a lot better before she was popular, but she hasn't realized it yet.



           Overall, although some teenagers may think that their relationships are great, they may not realize how much pain it causes them emotionaly. They don't realize that they could be so much happier without the things that they think make them happy. For example Sam thinks that her boyfriend and friends, keep her together and make her happy. I feel that a lot of teenagers could learn from this book and realize that many teenagers have bad relationships, but maybe not realizing it. Everyone has bad relationships, you have to be able to figure it out whats wrong in it, and fix it.

How the Murder of Four Teens Started A War Susan Lester 809

The article, “How the Murder of Four Teens Started a War,” written by Patricia Smith, is about four teens which three lived in Israel and one lived in Palestine who were completely innocent, but were all kidnaped and murdered in horrible ways.  After a feud of this, Israel was pushed over the edge and mentioned how the three teens were “murdered in cold blood by beasts.” This started a horrible war between Israel and Hamas.

Patricia Smith used excellent crafting in her writing. She uses a lot of loaded words. For example she uses the word extremists in her writing. She uses that word to describe a Jewish group in Israel that killed a Palestinian boy. I feel that extremist is a very powerful word because it means that someone is taking something to far. So she was saying that they took it to far, Another loaded word she used is, devastating. She used that word when she described the airstrikes that happened in Caza. Devastating is another really powerful word because it paints the image of something being completely destroyed.

Overall this article really made me more aware of what is happening. And it is horrible. My opinion on this is that it is extremely complicated. It has been going on for years, and there are extremists on both ends, and that is never good. It’s a very controversial topic. I feel that no war should happen. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it would be like if I lived in Palestine or Israel.

                 Darkness Too Visible response Susan Lester 809

              The article, “Darkness Too Visible,” by Megan Cox Gurdan talks about how young adult books these days are extremely dark and can be very disturbing. The author also mention’s that many of the books are extremely inappropriate and not ok for young teens or even older teens. Overall she is trying to get us to realize that we (as in teens) should not be reading those types of disturbing books.

            In this article Megan Cox Gurdon, uses a lot of craft moves and learning techniques. For example she uses a lot of loaded words such as “redneck bigots” and “unusually profane”, to describe the authors and books in this banned book list. She also uses imagery in this article. For example the article says, “The boy has been savagely beaten and left tied up with a gas pump nozzle shoved down his throat, and he may not live.” This quote gives a great deal of imagery talking about some of the risky books that should be banned. Another quote that has a lot of imagery in it is, “Young Jack is drugged, abducted and nearly raped by a male captor. After escaping, he encounters a curious pair of glasses that transport him into an alternate world of almost unimaginable gore and cruelty.” This also shows a lot of imagery. The author supported her opinion with backing up her statements with a bunch of books that are extremely disturbing and makes you feel that teenagers shouldn’t read those books.

            Although the author of this article makes a lot of good points, I feel that anyone should be aloud to read what they want to read. Also some of these books talk about people going through some really difficult situations, and maybe you can relate to that. For example if you are gay and you feel that no one really understands what your going through, there may be a book that can help you get through it because the character in the book is going through the same thing. Even though I feel that you should be able to read what you want to read, Megan Cox Gurdan made a lot of good points. Some of these books like, “The Marbury Lens,” is extremely inappropriate and probably wouldn’t help anybody with their problems, but maybe instead make them even more worried and scared. A lot of books the author mentioned in this article are extremely disturbing, and I have never heard of any of these books. The books really stood out to me because I didn’t know that someone could be going through something so horrible, or be making up a character that goes through that kind of stuff. This article definitely made me realize how disturbing some books are. It changed my perspective on books.

Reconstructing Amelia Susan Lester 809

            The teenage years are not easy. According to recent studies, one in six teens are regularly being bullied and one in eight teens suffer from depression. Teens are also confronted with having to deal with unwanted sexual contact, and there is a significant amount of teens abusing drugs. Many young adult books focus on these difficult issues, and it can be troubling for people to read about them because they don’t want to think about these problems and what life is really like for some teens. However, I think that it is important to be aware that teens really do deal with these issues. 

            One book that does a very good job of exploring the difficulties of the teen years is Reconstructing Amelia, written by Kimberly Mccrieght. This book portrays teenagers smoking, drinking and doing drugs, and having sexual intercourse, among other in other inappropriate behavior. The story is about a teenage girl named Amelia, who people thought jumped off the roof of the school, but are now starting to suspect that someone pushed her.  Although some people might think that what happens in this book is too troubling to read about, I was able to deal with it because it taught me a lesson, and I learned from the characters mistakes.

            One-way Reconstructing Amelia might be considered a troubling book, is because throughout the book there are teens drinking doing other drugs. For example on page 110 it says, “There were girls piled up on the couches and stretched out across the floor. It was filled with smoke too. Pot, cigarettes; most people had a beer in their hands.” This image of teens acting stupid and reckless could be troubling to a lot of readers because they don’t like to think that underage kids drink and do drugs. However, I’m glad the author put it in because it makes me aware of how dangerous drugs and drinking at a young age can be. It is scary to think that many teens don’t realize how horrible drugs and alcohol at a young age can be. When you’re a teenager, your brain is still developing. Drinking alcohol and smoking pot can hurt your brain’s development and make you less smart than you would have been. Also if you have an underlying and undiagnosed mental disorder such as bipolar or schizophrenia, it can be triggered.

            Alcohol and drugs aren’t the only substance the teenage characters abuse. Amelia’s friend, Zadie, smokes casually throughout the book. For example when Zadie was letting new girls into her club, it keeps mentioning how she smokes in-between sentences. This can also be find troubling because when Zadie smokes, she thinks she looks cool but she doesn’t realize it could give her lung cancer. I found this troubling because it made me think about the preteens and teens I know that smoke E cigarettes, and even though they aren’t as bad as regular cigarettes, they still have nicotine in it and that is extremely addictive.

            Another way this book can be considered troubling to readies that there are a lot of teens having sexual intercourse. On page 199, Amelia has to take inappropriate pictures of herself if she wants to stay in the Magpies (one of the many clubs at their school, this one is for the cool kids), and post them online on a blog. It says, “In the first, Heather was in a lace pushup bra and matching panties. That’s what I had to do. Oh god was it all worth it? For Dylan, it was.” That quote is troubling because teenagers posting pictures of themselves online basically naked is not what people want to see. Especially their parents. I also found this troubling to think about because there are tons of creepy people out there that might see your picture and then hunt you down. Another thing that happened that could be found troubling to readers is that Amelia and Dylan had sexual intercourse, and they were sixteen. Some readers might find this upsetting to read because they don’t want to think about girls this age having sex, because they may feel they are too young. I didn’t find this as troubling as the other things in the book because I feel that if you are in a serious relationship with someone you love, and you’re ready and use protection, it can be fine to do those sorts of things.

            Reading this book confirmed my feelings that although what happens in a book can be troubling to read about, it can also teach you a very good lesson. By portraying the mistakes the characters made, this book taught me to be aware of my actions and what I do, because there will be consequence and I will have to deal with them. So therefore, in the end even though young adult books can be troubling, there is usually a reason why they are like that. To teach you something

To All the boys I've loved before book response,written by Susan Lester

             

                        The book To All the boys I've loved before by Jenny Han is about a girl named Lara Jean who is extremely close to her father and sisters after there mother died when she was just a baby and about her boy problems. In the past to get over the boys she writes them love letters. She never sends the letters; they are just for her to keep for herself. But then someone sends out her letters to all the boys she wrote about and things get bad. A boy named Peter, who was her first kiss, gets her letter and confronts her. Peter's girlfriend  just broke up with him, and he want Lara Jean to help him get her back by making his ex-girlfriend jealous. Peter asks Lara Jean to be his fake girlfriend and she goes along with it. Lara Jean is still trying to get over her sisters ex boyfriend, Josh, and get him out of her mind by "dating" Peter. But towards the end of the book Josh starts to like Lara Jean and she starts liking Peter and Peter starts to like her! This book is hard to put down! This book a taught me a lot about life. Among other things,  it taught me that a sister's friendship is very important, and about boy problems. This book made me feel like i wasn't alone. I could relate to it very well.

               Margot and Kitty are Lara Jean's sisters. Lara Jean is extremely close to both of them. At times however, it was hard for Lara Jean to be around Margot. Margot dates one of Lara Jeans crushes, but Margot is not aware of that. Margot never dates people unless she really likes them, which hardly ever happens, so Lara Jean didn't say anything and let  her have him. They were a perfect couple. But then Margot broke up with him when she went to college andJosh (her boyfriend) was left heartbroken, because he was only a senior and was not ready for college. Josh figures out that Lara Jean liked him and kissed her, and Margot finds out and she is very hurt. This causes a fight, but the fight  shows how close Margot and Lara Jean are and how it matters to have your sisters as friends. From page 346 -Lara Jean, 

          "Tears roll down my cheeks. 'I know. You don't have to tell me Margot. I know how much    

           you do for us.'  

            Margot looked down. 'But then I left, and it's like you don't need me as much as I thought.' Her 

            voice breaks. 

          'Only because you taught me everything!' I cry out. 

           Margot's face  crumbles. 'I'm sorry,' I weep. 'I'm so sorry.' She takes one step towards me, and I  

           take one  towards her and then we fall into each others arms. We are sisters, and there's nothing  

           she or I can ever say to change that."

This passage is so sweet and it makes me realize no boy or girl can ever come between you and your siblings. Your sister is your best friend and you can't do anything to change that. 

           Another thing about this book is that i could relate to it about some of her problems. In this book Lara Jean fake dates Peter ( the cutest boy at her school) to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. Although he is extremely attractive, she still kind of has feelings for her sisters ex-boyfriend Josh. She deals with both of them, and she feels kind of nervous because she has never been in a real relationship, and even being in a fake one is hard to handle. She has no idea what to do in that kind of relationship. On page 113 it says, "I'm shutting my locker door when Peter leans in and tries to kiss me on my mouth. I'm so started I turn my head and we hit foreheads." This I find relatable not only to me but to other people because sometimes you can get nervous around boys and do stuff you don't mean to do like Lara Jean did. This book is great because its so relatable!

           Overall, I loved this book so much, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves romantic and funny books. This book was super sweet and reminded me what is most important, family. It was also extremely relatable! I would read this book as soon as you can!