Son: Week of 11/18/13

Pages: 1-93
Prompt: What have you learned from what you've read?

     There is one major thing that I've learned from what I've read so far, and that is to be thankful for what I have, and the type of society I live in! Son is set in a dystopian society where everything is much different from our society today! For one, you are assigned a job when you are 12 years old! This really makes me appreciate that I can go to school for 16 years of my life, and can start work when I'm ready! Rather than having to be ready to work, in a job that you may not even like, or appreciate, at an extremely young age! I'm very glad that I have more time to prepare for a job, and that I can actually choose the job that I would like to have when I get older. Also, some people don't even get a well respected job! I can't imagine being a birth mother where all you would do is reproduce children! It's not respected, and it's also very scary to have to be giving birth around the age of 12 and 13! So, that's one reason that this book has taught me to be thankful for the type of society I live in, and that I don't have to be ready to go to work at such a young age!

     Another way this book has taught me to be thankful is how you are only really given one possession a year, sometimes not even one! Each year, you are given something special for turning a new year, and so does everyone else your age! For instance, one year you receive a bicycle, another, a haircut! I sometimes complain about the things that I have, and how I wish I had this and that, but the people in this story, don't even get nearly as many things and opportunities as I do, and they are still happy and grateful! They get only one major thing a year, when I am always receiving or getting myself something new! The people in the story have NOTHING compared to me! I need to realize really how grateful I should be for all of the things that I receive, because I could be getting something new once a year, and that's about it! I need to start realizing that others have so much less, and instead of wanting more, I need to appreciate what I already have. So, not only did this teach me to be thankful for what all that I have, but it also taught me to appreciate all that I have!

     One last way this book has taught me to be thankful is when they talk about how you are only limited to the things inside of your community, and you're not allowed to go "elsewhere." In our society today, we pretty much have the freedom to go wherever we want, do (in a respectable manner) whatever we want, and see whatever we want to see, no matter which community or state you live in! The people who live in this community are limited to so much, and they are not even allowed to go outside of the community border! I can see the World, experience new things, new places, new sights, but the people in the book cannot! If they left, they would be seriously punished, and chastised, but if we would like to leave our little home town to see what was beyond, we wouldn't be punished or chastised, we would be allowed, and sometimes even encouraged to see more! So, that has really shown me that I should be thankful for the type of World I live in, and that I am allowed to see and do what I want, rather than be limited to so much!

     So, overall the book has really taught me to be thankful for the type of World I live in, and the types of opportunities and things I am able to have and do!

Sparrow Road: Week of 11/11/13

Pages: 1- 40
Prompt: Summarize what you've already read. After reading this, what do you wonder?

     I just started reading this book, and I'm already so interested with the story! It's about a girl named Raine, and her Mother. They have just moved to Sparrow Road from Milwaukee. Raine lived with her Mother and Grandfather in Milwaukee, where her Mother worked as a waitress at a diner, and her Grandfather owned a convenience shop. Raine liked to spend long afternoons at her Grandfathers shop, eating popsicles, and watching Brewers games on a small T.V. in the back room. One day, all of a sudden her Mom told her they were moving to Sparrow Road, so she could have a job taking care of, and waiting on Artists who lived there for the summer to get peace and quiet to work. 
     
     When they arrived at Sparrow Road, Raine realized some specific rules that she had to begin following. There was no talking from dawn to dinner on Monday's through Saturday's. You could only talk on a regular basis on Sunday's. There was no T.V., radio, or video game of any type. Raine and her Mother would be living in a very small cottage together, and Raine was not allowed to interact in any way with the Artists. She was to keep to herself pretty much the whole summer. Though, one day, Raine's mother went grocery shopping, (considering she would be cooking meals for the Artists), and Raine was not allowed to go with. So, while her mother was away, Raine decided to try and get to know the Artists. When she met them, she told them that her mother was gone and she needed some people to keep her company, but the Artists didn't take it as that her mother was only out for the afternoon. They considered her an orphan like "the others." Raine was confused, but went along with it. She got a tour of the Artists house, from one of the Artists himself, (Diego) and they found something very mysterious. An orphanage, in the house! They were not sure what it was for, or why it was there, but it sure was creepy, and that's where I left off.

     After reading that, there are a lot of things I am wondering, but four things in specific. The first thing I am wondering is, where is Raine's Father? They never really discuss him, or give any clue that she ever really had a Father, but I wonder where he may be. I mean she had to have a Father at one point, right? Or, if she never had a Father, why? Another main thing that I am wondering is, why did Raine and her mother move to Sparrow Road? Well, why did Raine's MOTHER want to move to Sparrow Road? (Raine never actually wanted to move, she was very content in her home.) Her Mother had a job as a waitress, and was bringing money in, and there was really nothing bad about their living situation. They lived with Raine's Grandfather, and everyone seemed content, and it seemed out of the blue that Raine's Mother wanted to up and leave. So, that's one question that is really on my mind.

     Another thing that I'm really wondering is, why do the Artists think that Raine is an orphan, or a child without a Mother? Also, what do they mean when they say, "She doesn't have a mother, just like the others?" What others are there? When Raine and her Mother arrived, there were no other people there. It was later at night, and very dark, but there still was not a person to be seen. Also, there weren't other people around in the morning either, so I'm extremely curious about these "other children" the Artists are talking about, and why they think Raine is one of them. One final thing that I am wondering after I read this was, what is the orphanage in the Artists house there for? I'm really wondering if it may relate somehow to the children that the Artists are talking about. Why would homeless children come to Sparrow Road, and why would that even be an option? Was Sparrow Road used for something else either than a place for Artists to go when they wanted some peace and quiet, in the past? So, that is the story so far, and some things that I'm wondering after reading that!

Divergent: Week of 11/4/13

SPOILER ALERT!

Pages: 282-455
Prompt: Pretend you are famous reporter on TV. Write a story about what you’ve read

for the evening news.

     BREAKING NEWS! We have just received information that.. is that Erudite... and Dauntless?! Erudite and Dauntless are working together, to kill and hurt Abnegation members, mainly members of the council. They are all armed with weapons,specifically guns, and look as if they are.. sleepwalking! Lets get the scoop on what's really going on. Let's talk to this young girl over here! 

Reporter- "Hello there!"

Tris- "Um, hi."

Reporter- "So, may I ask your name?"

Tris- "It's Tris."

Reporter- "What a wonderful name! May I ask you what you witnessed, and what is going on here?"

Tris- "Sure... It all started only a few hours ago, when I was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of rustling footsteps, and the sound of tying shoes..."

     I looked across the room, and I watched as the other initiates in my faction, sleepily got ready to leave the dormitory. I was wondering where they might be going at this hour of the night, in the state they were in, so I threw my shoes on, and headed out the dormitory with them. I tried to look like the others, so lost, and dazed, because I knew there was something going on, and if I stood out, something bad could happen. I followed my fellow initiates out of the dormitory, out of the Dauntless compound, and onto a train. I tried to look out of the corners of my eyes to see if anyone else seemed like this, though no one did. Until I found one of my good friends, and someone who is very close to me, Tobias. He was not dazed, yet looked as if he was, so like me, he wouldn't get caught. I knew he was different, like me, but he hadn't admitted it to me yet. When we eventually got where we were going, I looked around and realized we were in Abnegation, my previous faction. I knew we had come to go to war against them, because of my prior knowledge to the situation. So, Tobias and I decided we needed to bolt; we needed to get somewhere safe and fast. I couldn't bare to kill or see my old friends, neighbors, and family in Abnegation.

     So, Tobias and I ran, that is, until we were caught by Erudite and Dauntless leaders, Jeanine, and Eric. They asked where we were going, and in panic we shot them with the weapons we had been given for battle, though we didn't kill them. As we ran away, I was shot in the shoulder, and eventually Tobias and I, were caught. We were brought to a room, where Jeanine and Eric reminded us of the injection that everyone had been given the previous day, which put them in this state. Though, since Tobias and I are Divergent, this injection did not have an affect on us. So, Tobias would get a newer and stronger injection, that would cause him to be like everyone else, and want to kill everyone in Abnegation, the "enemy." Though, I was not going to get this injection, but instead, I was going to die. They put me out, and the next thing I knew, I was in some sort of casing, that was beginning to fill with water. I wanted to break out, but it was no use, because the casing wouldn't budge, and I had to face the reality that I was going to die. Until someone came to break me out, which I later found out was my mother! My mother came to save me, and as we were escaping to safety, she was shot and killed, and now here I am, trying to stay safe, and talking to you.

Reporter- "So Tris, what are you going to do now?"

Tris- "Well, I need to be brave, and I need to stay strong. I know that this is what my mother would want. I am going to fight the Erudite and Dauntless leaders until things can be right, and I could fight them all my life, and it could make no difference, but I need to stand up for what I believe in and what I feel is right, and I don't feel that what Jeanine and Eric are doing, is in any way shape or form right! They killed my mother by creating this injection, and causing others to kill without their knowledge of killing someone, and this makes me sick!"

Reporter- "Well, your one brave woman Tris! I wish you good luck!"

Tris- "Thank you."

There you have it folks! Now, we don't have anymore information on this at the moment, but I promise that when we do, we will inform you about it! Stay safe.

                                                                         -Julia Swicionis, Abnegation Headquarters