Summer Reading Blog #4: The Candy Makers

Pages: 1-452 (End)

Prompt: Who is your favorite character and why? 

     Well, when I started the book, my favorite character now, was my least favorite character. I thought that Daisy would be my favorite character because she was a girl and she was cheerful, and so kind, and daring, and fun. Though, once I read the story from Phillip's point of view, I realized that I liked him much better. He had a very hard life, and he gets through it and is so talented and actually very sweet when you get to know him, and he seemed very snotty before we got to know him! When he started the candy making competition, all he wanted was to win. He also acted kind of snotty so that people wouldn't underestimate him, because he actually wasn't experienced with Candy. He only joined the competition to win and he acted like he knew everything and was too good for everyone, when it was really only an act. That's why I really didn't like him at first, but once I began to learn more about his life, and how he lived, it made me actually like him! Also, as we got further into the story, his attitude changed dramatically, and that's when I realized, that I was actually starting to like him!

     Phillip actually went through a lot more than you would think, because he rarely shows emotion, so you wouldn't be able to tell. His Mom died when he was young, and his Dad only cared about winning, money, and getting ahead whether you had to cheat or not. He never really payed attention to Phillip. Also, Phillip's older brother had won many awards and first places in plenty of competitions and Phillip hated that his brother always won, and that nobody ever really cared that he won, because he never won as much as his brother. I also felt bad for Phillip because he had an AMAZING talent. He was extremely good at playing the violin, but he could never showcase his talent because he was afraid his father wouldn't appreciate it, and that's what made me feel the worst for him. I would hate not being able to show people that I Irish Dance because it's a talent that I love so much and take so seriously. Though, he's not just my favorite character because I felt bad for him and because I sympathize him. He's my favorite character for other reasons as well. 

     Phillip is also my favorite character because in the end, he wanted the best for the Candy Factory and the people in it. He decided to be as good a person he could be. He tried to make the best candy he could, not just to win, but to save the Factory. He wanted the best for all of the people around him; the new friends he made throughout the short time he spent at the factory, and I love that. I like the kind of people who go above and beyond to help others, even if they'd hardly just met. I think Phillip is honestly a good guy, no matter how snooty he was at the beginning of the book. I know and believe that it was all an act, and that he really does care about others. I only wish that he could have a better relationship with his father, because if they could just get along with each other, and his Dad would pay more attention to him, then his life would get a little bit better. Though, I believe that he's a strong person, and I think it's just amazing that he can be so kind and considerate when it seems like nobody would care anyways. He's just an overall incredible person, and those are the reasons why Phillip is my favorite character from "The Candy Makers!"

Summer Reading Blog #3: The Candy Makers

Pages- 1-452 (End)

Prompt: What was the story about? Give an Overall Summary of the book. 

The Candy Makers is a mystery with many twists and turns, and here is what it's about!

     There are four main characters in the book; Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Phillip, and there is a section of the book for each character explaining their point of view on what is happening. The story starts out as Logan's Point of View. Logan is the Candy Makers son, and his family owns a Candy Factory. Every year, there is a country wide Candy making competition for kids 12 years old, to create the best candy! The winner gets their candy created in the Candy factory of their choice, and sold for everyone to enjoy all over the country! Logan's Grandfather, and Father had both won this award, so he felt it was his responsibility to keep the trend going, and win for his family. Logan knew a lot about Candy, and the way it worked, but people didn't always take him seriously, because of an accident that happened when he was young. A boy came to the Factory for the Annual Factory Picnic, (which we would later find out was actually Phillip) and Logan and him instantly became friends. They were giving a tour of the factory and Phillip had this toy truck, and Logan wanted to see it, so he tossed it to Logan, and it fell in the chocolate, Logan went into the chocolate to try and retrieve the truck, but he ended up with burns all over his face and arms from the hot chocolate! So, some people kind of babied him because they felt bad. But he really wanted to win! Though, not all the contestants he was against felt the same way. Daisy was actually only there on a mission, as she was a SPY! She had been working as a spy ever since she was little, and her mission was to get the secret ingredient  the factory used in Their chocolate. She didn't ever really see her parents and she didn't even know her own last name, and sometimes she didn't even want to be a spy, and wanted to just be a normal kid. 

     Now, Miles only joined the competition because he was into chemistry, and was never really social because of something he had witnessed a couple years prior, so his parents wanted him to be able to do something he enjoyed, and be able to interact with others at the same time. He was out on the lake on a rowboat with his parents and they were all having a good time and then this swarm of bees came towards the boat, but they passed them and kept flying towards the shore. There was a girl on the shore and she ran into the water to get away from the bees and she went under and never came up. Miles always thought that she died and wanted to win the competition for her, but he later found out that it was actually Daisy who had to swim across the whole lake for spy training and she didn't actually die. Though, Miles didn't know that until towards the end of the competition, so he made a bee candy in honor if her. Finally, there's Phillip. Now, at first Phillip only wanted to win the competition so that he could say that he won, but then it became much more. He found out that his father wanted the secret ingredient that the factory used for the chocolate to destroy the factory, but when Phillip found out, he made a deal with his dad that if he were to win the competition, then his dad would not try to ruin the factory in any way, and the deal was made. Phillip was a bit snooty in the way he acted towards the other competitors, and though he acted totally different, he had something in common with all of them; they all had grown a love for the factory! All the employees were so nice and helped them in anyway to create the best candy they could, and the factory just had an overall AMAZING atmosphere! So, on the night before the competition, Miles was having a sleepover in the factory with Logan, and Daisy and Phillip both snuck into the factory trying to make sure that nobody would get the secret ingredient, and they all ended up running into each other, and decided to come clean!

     Daisy started off by blowing her cover as a spy, and telling them about her life as a spy, why she had come to the factory that night and what she was trying to do, and while explaining her training is when Miles realized that she was the girl who had "drowned" on the beach. Phillip explained that he was only there to try and get the secret ingredient before anyone working for his father could, which is when he found out that Daisy was the spy working for his dad. Then Phillip told them that he had to win the competition so his Father wouldn't ruin the factory, and explained their bet. Logan was a bit upset because he really wanted to win for his family, and he wanted to really share his candy with the whole country. Logan's Candy was the BubbletasticChocoRocket, which was supposed to go from chocolate to gum, and back again, but he couldn't get it to be able to go back to chocolate after it turned into gum, so he agreed to help Phillip, as did everyone else! So they worked all night and helped Phillip make a candy harmonica that really played! When they got the competition the next morning, there were lots of great candies, but the top runners were the BubbleTasticChocoRocket (Logan), The Harmonicandy (Phillip) and a Candy Ice Cream that the judges couldn't stop eating. Now, along with everyone's entry, they had to have a list of ingredients and a description of the candy. Later in the day, Logan was approached by a security member of the judges of the Candy, and he said that the judges said that if he changed his description of his candy from, "Starting with Chocolate, turning to gum and back again," to, " starting with Chocolate and turning into gum," then he would be the winner. Though, Logan knew that wasn't fair, so he turned down the offer. So it was between the Candy Ice cream, and the Harmonicandy. Though, the Candy Ice Cream had caffeine in it, which was a forbidden ingredient in the competition, so the Candy Ice Cream was disqualified and the Harmonicandy won!

     In the end the "Life is Sweet" Candy Factory wasn't ruined or taken over by anyone, and there were four new Candy Makers; Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Phillip. They all ended up actually becoming great friends, and learned that the secret ingredient for the chocolate at the factory was actually nothing more than themselves and anyone and everyone else working at the "Life is Sweet" Candy Factory!           

Summer Reading Blog #2: The Fault In Our Stars

Pages: 1-313 (End)

Prompt: If you could meet any 3 characters from the book, who would they be?

     Well, the obvious characters from the book that most people would want to meet would be Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, but I would actually prefer to meet three other characters (technically four!)

      The first Character I would like to meet is Isaac! The main reason is because he had cancer in his eyes and he had to get fake eyes in his real eyes place so that they could get rid of the cancer, which would mean he would end up being blind. I would love to ask him questions about what it's like to go from being able to see to not being able to see, and getting to find out from a person who has experienced it first hand, how hard the transition was! I would imagine it was extremely difficult and challenging to go from being able to see, to not being able, but maybe it went better then he thought. Also a lot of people say that when you lose one sense, it makes your other senses stronger, so I would be very interested in what senses personally became stronger for him! Was it touch, taste, hear, all of the above? Did he always wish he could just see something one more time, see his mother, his father? I think I would miss being able to see the beauty of the World everyday! But, not only did he go blind, but he had cancer! I would love to hear what having cancer is like, knowing you might not survive, and finding out how he coped with treatment and things like that! I would definitely want to hear from someone who had experienced going from being able to see to being blind to know what it really feels like, and also being able to meet someone who had cancer and survived! So, that's why I would love to meet Isaac!

      The second character I would love to meet is Peter Van Houten! First of all, he was an Author, and I think it's always very interesting to meet someone who has written a book because you can really find out what the process is like first hand, and you can also find out what he was thinking when he wrote the book. I would also love to know what it's like to have written a book that has truly touched people's hearts, because I know that his book definitely touched Hazel and Augustus's hearts, and I would want to know truly how good it makes you feel. Van Houten had also lost his daughter to cancer, which is what his book was inspired by, and I would really want to know what it feels like to lose someone so close to you in so many ways! I would imagine it would be absolutely horrible, but I haven't lost anybody that I've been extremely close with, so I wouldn't personally know! I would also like to meet Van Houten because he's kind of crazy, some might even say mad (like the Mad Hatter) a combination of both, and I really want to know what's going through his mind when he's being rude to Hazel and Augustus and Drinking and saying random things, and know why he's really doing it. Is it because he just can't help being like that, or because he's just s that kind of person who likes avoiding questions, and doesn't particularly care about how he acts towards others? So, that's why I would love to meet Peter van Houten!

     The last character or characters I would love to meet are Mr. And Mrs. Lancaster (Hazel's Parents!) I would love to meet them for one main reason, and that's because they had to raise a kid growing up with cancer. I would ask them so many questions! I would ask them if they were ever scared to tell Hazel bad news about her health, and how they delivered the bad news that her cancer was terminal (unless the doctors did that, which they probably did.) What it was like to deal with Hazel when she was really depressed or sick. I know it's hard to raise a kid that's perfectly healthy, so I can imagine it would be extremely hard to raise a kid with a terminal illness! How hard it would be to make sure she stays extremely healthy, and that she's always doing good! I would also think it would be a strain on money paying all of the medical expenses, so I would ask them if it was ever hard to pay certain medical bills, or to pay for certain treatments! I would just really want to find out what it was like raising Hazel, and also knowing that she wouldn't be with them forever, and might not experience some of the greatest pleasures and opportunities in life!

So, that's why I would love to meet Isaac, Peter Van Houten, and Mr. And Mrs. Landcaster!