Currently Week 6

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Night by Elie Wiesel
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Pages This Week: 106
Total Pages: 640


Sentences of the Week: 

1. "Nature had come into her own again and, little by, little, in her stealthy, insidious way had encroached upon the drive with long tenacious fingers." Rebecca

2. "At the moment it inspires me, if not with love, at least with confidence." Rebecca

3. "If you've ever heard a cow cry for her calf, you know how it feels to have something beautiful and new put into your hands, to wonder and smile at it, and then have it snatched away." A Northern Light

My favorite sentence this week is sentence number one from Rebecca. I like this sentence because it uses great adjectives to describe nature and a great verb, "encroached", instead of a bland and common verb.

Sentences of the Month

Currently:
Go Ask Alice author Anonymous edited by Beatrice Sparks
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly 
Night by Elie Wiesel

Pages this Week: 111

Total Pages: 534

Sentences of the Month:
1. "So big question - why so much hate in your mind when love is the only way to straighten things out?" Jay's Journal

2. "He explained to me, with great emphasis, that every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer..." Night

3. "Right now I want a word that describes the feeling you get - a cold, sick feeling deep down inside - when you know something is happening that will change you, and you don't want it to, but you can't stop it. And you know, for the first time, for the very first time, that there will now be a before and an after, a was and a will be. And that you will never again be quite the same person you were." A Northern Light

4. "I wish there was some way to literally and truly and completely and permanently blot my real nightmares out, but since there isn't, I must poke them way back into the darkest and most inaccessible corners and crevices of my brain, where perhaps they will eventually be covered over or become lost." Go Ask Alice

My favorite sentence this month is the passage from Night. I like it because it's a sentence that made me stop and think about what it's saying and trying to teach. If I have to stop and think about a sentence I like it.

Class Claims

1. In the "So Long, Farewell" musical number of the Sound of Music, the Von Trapp children's bright  facial expressions, poised choreography, and cooing, melodic music develops the sense of lighthearted pleasure and soothing amusement. - Keep It Classy

2. In this flash mob by Todrick Hall, the mischievous and adventurous expressions, jubilant sounds, and bustling moves, show the explosive creativity and confident energy of the dancers. - The Average Life of a Teenage Bookworm

3. In this music video, Justin Bieber and Chris Brown's powerful, driving movement, harmonic vocals, and romantic, loving facials, express a sense of passionate romance and vibrant love. - For Beliebers Everywhere!

4. In the current edition of People Magazine, the precise use of clear texture,  soft focus, and pained expression depict a Greif- ridden child who fell victim to the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.- The Blog of Epic Proportions

5. In this scene from Grease, the director's melodic sound, crazy setting, open facial expression, and clean clothing expresses a sense of intimate playfulness, romantic energy, and loving animation. - Twilight

I think the claim from Keep It Classy's blog is one of the best. It uses a variety of powerful adjectives to describe the musical number.

Most creative & original artifact for close read:
Laughapalooza

Misty Melody

Misty Melody, Leonid Afremov

Observe:
Color: vibrant, wild, bright,
Appearance: beautiful, colorful, tranquil, flowing, peaceful
Space: open, inviting
Texture: smooth, silky, fluttering, realistic

Infer:
Consoling
Contentment
Dreamy
Euphoria
Explosive
Majestic
Relaxation
Peaceful
Pleasant
Romance
Vibrancy
Whimsical

Claim:
Leonid Afremov's vibrant use of color, flowing appearance, and realistic, silky texture illustrates a feeling of whimsical relaxation and majestic euphoria.

Currently at This Moment

Elie Wiesel now.

Go Ask Alice Author Anonymous edited by Beatrice Sparks
A Northern Light Jennifer Donnelly
Night Elie Wiesel

Pages This Week: 105

Total Pages: 423

Elie Wiesel then...

Sentences of the Week:
1."He explained to me, with great emphasis, that every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer..." Night

2. "I wish there was some way to literally and truly and completely and permanently blot my real nightmares out, but since there isn't, I must poke them way back into the darkest and most inaccessible corners and crevices of my brain, where perhaps they will eventually be covered over or become lost." Go Ask Alice

3. "Right now I want a word that describes the feeling you get - a cold, sick feeling deep down inside - when you know something is happening that will change you, and you don't want it to, but you can't stop it. And you know, for the first time, for the very first time, that there will now be a before and an after, a was and a will be. And that you will never again be quite the same person you were." A Northern Light

This week passage three, from A Northern Light, is my favorite because although it's more than one single sentence each sentence flows together to form a single thought. I think that the passage is one that can be related to by many people even though the story takes place during the early 1900s.

Ending of One, Beginning of Another

Jay's addiction took a new turn, I'm convinced that he's possessed or at the least living with an eternal demon. This demon seems to have taken over his body and his fate. It sounds like a horror movie taking place, and then I remember its true, which elevates its scariness that much more. I want to have hope for Jay, hope that maybe a miracle will happen and things will turn around. However, at this point I feel like this story has reached the point of no return. As if things weren't already bad enough his friend Brad dies in a car accident and injuries to his right temple. Devastation in both Dell and Jay they decide that it is not going to happen to them and they're going to both turn their lives around. Sadly, a few days later Dell gets hit by a car and injuries to his right temple contribute to his death. The right temple has significance in their deaths because when they were experimenting with the cow blood and organs they focused holding their right temples; they'd also dedicated themselves to O. The loss of his best friends couldn't have happened at a worse time, and just as I'd assumed Jay joined them a week to the day after Brad's death. The ending is sad but sort of predictable. It was sad to read about how a boy who had so much going for him made one slip up after the other and ended his life with so much in front of him, or so much that could have been in his future before he 'dedicated' himself to O (which he soon after regretted). In his suicide letter he gave all his possessions to Debbie. I thought this was odd since she was really the reason he got started down the wrong path, but I must admit it was better to see her name than Tina's. The ending note from his mother was also sad. Her note really makes you realize that this story is true. And with that it's almost mind boggling to me how one person can get so mentally corrupted to where they appear to be possessed by some demonic entity. Rest in peace Jay.

Just into the book Go Ask Alice, which is the companion book to Jay's Journal. In just the beginning of the book she's already dealing with issues concerning a boy and family issues at home. I've noticed in the first few pages that names of places and businesses are being replaced with " _____." I can't help but ask, why not just change the name for confidentiality reasons? This book's author is also "Anonymous", I think that fact itself draws me into it. It gives the book a sense of mystery or danger that the author felt compelled to be Anonymous.

Get Out or Say Goodbye

Just when I said Tina needed to go, she did, or so I thought. She left for a little while which made Jay upset but then just like a rabbit in a magician's hat, she was back. This time after a series of what I believe to be, unfortunate events, Tina and Jay decide to get married? Not the tradition church legalized married, but their own occult spiritual and eternal "marriage". I don't know why I didn't see this one coming. I was reading along about this foolish marriage, and then my jaw dropped. It didn't drop in surprise but is disgust. The way they finalize their marriage is by cutting their tongues and letting the blood flow together - gross? Just when I thought things couldn't get more disturbing, of course, they did. To end their marriage ceremony (which took place in a cemetery), a boy brought in a small kitten. In the breathe of a word he snapped its neck. The "wedding" guests and Tina and Jay then all proceeding to focus all their energy on the karma of the kitten to bring its soul back into its body; they failed. I think that incident itself should be a news flash that they don't have superpowers like they thought they did. To be honest, this is getting ridiculous. It seems to me that O (Jay's nickname for occult) is taking over his life just like a drug addiction, only stronger. This addiction keeps getting worse, as I found out as I read on. If I thought the kitten was disturbing then I wasn't prepared for what I was about to read next. Mel, Brad, Dell, and Jay all left for the weekend and when they were away they ended up killing cows and cutting out only specific organs and taking blood. Why in the world would anyone want to kill a cow much less take organs and bloods, unless you're a butcher? Poor cows. Disturbing times ten. The things they ended up doing with the blood and organs is just wrong; it's wrong to the point I'm not gonna share. WRONG. Days had passed and Jay goes back to saying he's going to get out of O, like he's been saying throughout the book. Sometimes it's like he's two different people, one who is fascinated by occult and then another who wishes it had never happened to him. Tina started seeing a new guy which confuses me because she's "married" to Jay? However, maybe this is his way out...

Better Left Unknown

Just when I'd hoped Jay was gonna turn his life around, it fails. He's been making his experiences with the occult an "experiment", but if you ask me it's an excuse. An excuse for who or what...even why, I have no idea. I mean if you're going to be involved in it, at least admit to you are, to others and most importantly, yourself. His new love interest isn't helping him become a better person, at all. She herself, herself being Tina, is involved in the occult. She's involved even more so than Jay was, which by itself is scary. Personal note: I don't understand how one can get so absorbed in 'occult'. Focusing on objects trying to move them with your mind, I don't know about you but staring at an object so intensely to see it move in the slightest way does not sound appealing or even realistic. The objects they're focusing on aren't going to just grow legs and start dancing, what are they expecting? Or better yet, I wonder what they see happening through their eyes and mind? Maybe the objects did move. Back to Tina and such, I guess she can't be criticized or considered "bad for Jay" in all areas, I mean Jay was happy; keyword, was. When Tina leads him up to some hidden house activities occurred that I didn't quite understand at first. I kept reading along and then I finally understood, and oh my goodness it isn't even appropriate to post. I was shocked and almost speechless when it finally hit me. Tina needs to go if Jay has any hope left of turning his life around.

Currently and As of now

Jay's Journal, Beatrice Sparks

Pages This Week: 108

Total Pages: 210

Sentences of the Week:

1."Negative thoughts and actions doing the opposite." Jay's Journal

2."Am I the only one who has to ponder over things, think them out, try to find answers?" Jay's Journal

3."Together we're like a full symphony orchestra, not just a flash-in-the-night rock group or a loud dissonant combo but ... well, like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the "Hallelujah Chorus"." Jay's Journal 

My favorite sentence this week is sentence number 3. I like how it uses such description to express Jay's feeling when he's with Tina.